ATLANTA -- Georgia Regents University is taking 30 medical students out of class Tuesday and busing them to the Capitol so they can "thank" legislators for the residency-program funding in Gov. Nathan Deal's recommended budget.

"One of the first things we're going to do is thank our legislators for their support," said student Brett Heimlich.

It will be the 185th anniversary of Georgia's only public medical school.

The dean of the university's Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Peter F. Buckley, said there is nothing inappropriate about a public university bringing students to essentially lobby for taxpayer funds.

"There's nothing weird and wonderful about this. This is part of their training," he said.

Most public medical schools have been bringing students to meet with lawmakers in other states, but this is the first time GRU has done it, he said. The university's Athens campus it shares with the University of Georgia bused in students last year and again last week.

GRU will not only cover the cost of transportation but also pay for a lunch the students will have with legislators.

"There is not a huge expense," Buckley said. "And this is part of their curriculum."

However, it's not a curriculum requirement, and the other 200 students won't get the experience.

School administrators selected students based on their leadership in the school and their hometowns to ensure as many different legislators would be visited from someone local.

The students will make the point to legislators that Georgia's physician shortage would be best addressed by increasing the number of residency positions at the state's hospitals because doctors are more likely to spend their careers where they undergo their residency training.

"I haven't really decided where I'll practice. It depends on where I have my residency," said Class President Lael Reinstatler, a Florida native who received her masters from Emory University.

Deal is recommending $2 million to help hospitals in across the state. After each residency is established and accredited, the hospitals expect to receive Medicare funds to cover part of the ongoing costs.