At the MU School of Medicine, the health of our patients is our first priority. By providing the highest quality health care, our providers create an environment for the highest quality education for future physicians. In this way, we fulfill our mission of improving the health of all people, especially Missourians.
During 2015, the University of Missouri has been faced with several controversies. Understandably, topics such as racism, freedom of speech, women’s health and abortion have generated concern and comments from alumni and friends of the university on all sides of these issues. We recognize that these and other social issues historically have been the subject of passionate political activism and debate throughout our country and on college campuses. And rightly so, because freedom of speech and the right to express one’s political opinions are inalienable rights upon which our country was founded.
At the MU School of Medicine, we understand the importance of inclusion, diversity and civility in education, and we have a longstanding commitment to providing a positive learning environment for all students. As medical professionals, it is our job to care for patients; moreover, as human beings it’s our duty to respect others without exception. As physicians and educators, we are obligated to help students understand that respect is not a luxury reserved only for some – it’s a fundamental value that serves as a cornerstone for us as physicians and educators.
The University of Missouri School of Medicine’s new Patient-Centered Care Learning Center in Columbia is scheduled to open in 2017. The center, seen here in an artist’s rendering, will connect the school to the larger MU campus through views of Jesse Hall and the older parts of campus.
In my opinion, an important point has been obscured amid the recent media coverage and political debates, and that is this: the University of Missouri School of Medicine is dedicated to saving lives – through medical research, education of tomorrow’s physicians, and providing clinical care. That has been our mission for more than 165 years, and we deliver on it superbly every day. I can assure you that we remain focused on our mission and ways we can learn from these events and make improvements. The following are some examples of how we are carrying out our commitment to Missourians.
Education
The 2015 School of Medicine class excelled in multiple capacities. Our graduates scored nearly 10 points higher than the national average on the United States Medical Licensing Exam’s Step 1 exam. Ninetynine percent of our graduates were matched for residencies, and 31 percent of graduates chose MU for their residencies. Of the 104 students who began medical school this year, the average MCAT score was 30.3, and the average GPA was 3.79. For more than a decade, our students have outperformed their peers on licensing exams. They also take time from their demanding schedules to volunteer in the community with programs such as MedZou, our local student-run free clinic.
Springfield Clinical Campus Expansion
The University of Missouri, CoxHealth, and Mercy Springfield are addressing a critical shortage of physicians in the state and nation by adding a second MU School of Medicine clinical campus in Springfield. As part of the expansion, MU recently broke ground on a $42.5 million Patient-Centered Care Learning Center in Columbia. These changes will make it possible for the MU School of Medicine to increase our medical school class size from 96 to 128 students. By 2020, a total of 64 third- and fourth-year medical students will be based in Springfield. The project will provide more than 300 additional physicians for Missouri, add more than $390 million annually to the state’s economy and create 3,500 new jobs. When the Patient-Centered Care Learning Center opens in 2017, it will be more than just a new state-of-the-art facility: It will be a tangible symbol of the School of Medicine’s mission to provide education that focuses on the patient in every aspect. You can find out more about this at http://medicine.missouri.edu/morephysicians.
Nearly 100 medical students, including second-year medical student Molly Johnson, (MSMA member since 2014), showed their support for the School of Medicine expansion to a second campus in Springfield by participating in a groundbreaking ceremony in Columbia in July 2015
School of Medicine students Farrah Malik, Murphy Mastin and David Clarke (MSMA member since 2015) join Linda Headrick, MD, senior associate dean for education, at the construction site for the Patient-Centered Care Learning Center. When planning for the design of the center, project leaders sought the input of medical students in order to maximize the new space to meet students’ needs.
Rural Track Training Programs
The School of Medicine’s Area Health Education Center Rural Track Pipeline Program celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015. The program, which is designed to address the critical shortage of physicians in rural areas, has helped produce 577 physicians since its inception in 1995. One of the four programs included in the pipeline is the Bryant Scholars Pre-Admissions Program. Through the program, eligible undergraduate college students are pre-admitted to medical school at MU. The program recently expanded to all four-year universities and colleges in Missouri, allowing students from 24 additional universities to apply. Seventy-seven percent of Bryant Scholars now practice in Missouri, and 69 percent of that group practice in rural locations. Learn more about our Rural Track Program at http://medicine.missouri.edu/ahec.
Patient-Centered Education
The theme of patientcentered care is integrated throughout medical education at MU. Thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the MU School of Medicine is piloting a new project that will help meet demand for primary care physicians, as well as provide patients expertise and knowledge from a team of health care providers, all in one visit.
The project, “Aligning Residency Education with Clinical Practice Transformation,” will teach family medicine resident physicians how to provide comprehensive primary care to patients throughout their lifetimes, a practice known as a patient-centered medical home. In a medical home, physicians provide lifelong care anywhere the patient may be, whether that is in a clinic, a hospital, at home, in an assisted living facility or during hospice care.
The Legacy Teachers’ Program that originated at the MU School of Medicine recently has been adopted by other medical schools across the nation. In this program, third-year medical students are asked to reflect on patients who have had a lasting impact on students’ ability to provide patientcentered care. Students submit essays or artwork describing the patients’ contributions to their lifelong development, as a way to thank and honor their Legacy Teachers for the powerful lessons they have taught medical students. For more information about Legacy Teachers, visit http://medicine.missouri.edu/legacy.
Research
During fiscal year 2015, the School of Medicine received $16.8 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. The medical school is fortunate to be located on the MU campus, in close proximity to the Harry S. Truman Veterans Administration Hospital, Sinclair School of Nursing, School of Health Professions, and the Colleges of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), Veterinary Medicine and Engineering. At MU, we have more than 1,000 life scientists — all on one campus — who are united in the goal of improving health by studying humans, animals, plants and the environment. Their efforts focus on the deadliest diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, and the most vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly. Visit http://medicine.missouri.edu/research for updates on the School of Medicine’s latest research discoveries.
Clinical Care
In 2015, University of Missouri Health Care served 191,293 Missourians. MU Health Care, based in Columbia, Missouri, is a vital clinical partner in helping the MU School of Medicine achieve all of its missions. With expenditures of nearly $1.1 billion, MU’s medical school, hospitals and clinics’ combined annual economic impact totals of approximately $2.5 billion. MU Health Care consists of Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute, the Missouri Psychiatric Center, University Hospital, and Women’s and Children’s Hospital – all based in Columbia. For more information on MU Health Care, please visit www.muhealth.org.
Biography
Patrice “Patrick” Delafontaine, MD, serves as the Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
Contact: delafontainep@health.missouri.edu
