The University of Missouri (MU) School of Medicine was established in Columbia as the first publicly-supported medical school west of the Mississippi River in 1872. The school was transformed into a four-year program in 1957. Construction of University Hospitals and Clinics in 1960 provided a major addition to the academic campus.
The mission of the MU School of Medicine is to improve the health of all people, especially Missourians, through exemplary education, research, and patient-centered care. Of the more than 7,700 medical school alumni, approximately 45 percent entered practice in Missouri, making MU School of Medicine the largest contributor to the physician workforce in Missouri. The MU School of Medicine’s graduate programs also train scientists for Missouri, with 168 graduate students currently enrolled in programs ranging from physiology to health informatics.
Education
The education mission of MU School of Medicine is to educate physicians to provide effective patient-centered care. That means producing graduates who achieve excellence in these key characteristics:
Able to deliver effective patient-centered care.
Honest with high ethical standards
Knowledgeable in biomedical sciences, evidence-based practice, and societal and cultural issues.
Critical thinker; problem solver
Able to communicate with patients and others.
Able to collaborate with patients and other members of health care team.
Committed to improving quality and safety.
Committed to life-long learning and professional formation.
The school uses case-based learning with groups of eight students, initially called problem-based learning and now referred to as patient-based learning (PBL), as a cornerstone for delivery of the medical curriculum. Since introducing this curriculum in 1993, MU School of Medicine students have scored far above their peers in medical licensing exams and in subsequent residency program director reviews. The themes of patient safety, quality improvement and team-based care delivery are interwoven throughout the four-year curriculum through a variety of interprofessional learning opportunities ranging from error disclosure training to training in interprofessional communication in the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Simulation Center. The MU School of Health Professions, the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy are valuable partners in developing and improving the interprofessional educational offerings to our students. This groundbreaking work was recognized by the receipt of the Duncan Neuhauser Award for Curricular Innovation from the Academy for Healthcare Improvement in 2011. In December 2013, the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) presented its Learning Health System Challenge Award to Dr. Linda Headrick, senior associate dean for education and the Helen Mae Spiese Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and to the MU School of Medicine medical education team, honoring their innovation in medical education.
The Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, the Rusk Rehabilitation Center, dozens of health systems throughout Missouri, and hundreds of community-based physicians serve as important partners in both medical student education and graduate medical education.
Patient-Centered Education
The theme of patient-centered care is integrated throughout the pre-clerkship and clerkship curriculum. Cases studied by first- and second-year students are often introduced by having the students obtain the history from a simulated patient in our simulation center. All students are required to complete a patient-centered objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) at the end of their third year, demonstrating that they possess the skill sets needed to provide patient-centered care in a variety of complex clinical situations. Dozens of our students participate in the annual Legacy Teachers’ Program. In this program, third-year medical students are asked to reflect on patients who have had a lasting impact on the students’ ability to provide patient-centered care. Students submit essays, artwork or poetry 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 them. Participating patients and their families are invited to join the students at an annual luncheon.
Rural Track Training Programs
Our rural track training programs serve as a national exemplar, with 15.5 percent of our graduates practicing in rural areas (national average 10 percent). The MU School of Medicine partners with health systems, clinics, and providers in over 60 towns and cities throughout Missouri to provide training to students as part of the Rural Track Clerkship Program and Rural Track Elective Program. The Bryant Scholars Program and the Summer Community Program help medical students better understand the rewards of practice in a rural environment.
MU School of medicine students participate in interprofessional team training in the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Clinical Simulation Center. From Left, Sakshi Mathur (medical student), Jakheera Allums (health professions student), Ashley Sweeney (medical student), and Mackenzie King (nursing student) examine a mannequin.
Springfield Clinical Campus Expansion
In 2013, the Missouri legislature appropriated funds to expand the MU School of Medicine class size by 33 percent. This year, the entering class size will expand from 96 to 104, expanding further to 128/year following expansion of the School of Medicine educational spaces. Beginning in 2016, a portion of the medical school class will complete the final two years of their clinical education in Springfield, Missouri, in collaboration with CoxHealth and the Mercy Health System. This partnership will provide the students of our school with outstanding clinical learning opportunities while expanding the physician workforce to meet projected needs.
Graduate Medical Education
The MU academic medical center is home to 38 graduate medical education programs, with a total of 424 residents and fellows currently in training. All residency and fellowship programs currently enjoy full accreditation by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education.
Research
The MU School of Medicine 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, Engineering, and Business. In addition, MU is home to the largest university research nuclear reactor in the U.S. The MU School of Medicine leverages the close physical proximity to all of these partners to create collaborative research initiatives such as our Biodesign and Innovation Program, radiopharmaceutical development program, and comparative medicine programs in orthopedics and oncology.
In fiscal year 2013, research expenditures of the MU School of Medicine totaled $33.9 million, and total sponsored programs expenditures equaled $50.3 million. Specific research focus areas in the MU School of Medicine include:
Microbiology and virology
Cardiovascular diseases
Outcomes research and informatics
Nutrition and health
Neurosciences
Regenerative medicine
Cancer therapeutics and diagnostics
Developmental origins of disease
Clinical Care
University of Missouri Health Care (MU Health Care), based in Columbia, Missouri, is a vital clinical partner in helping the MU School of Medicine achieve all of its missions. Over the past five years, MU Health Care has expanded health care facilities with the opening of a new Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and a new Inpatient Care Tower. Specialty hospitals for orthopedics, psychiatric care, and women’s and children’s care have been added to our system. Increasing patient volumes have led to significant expansion of our clinical faculty and new environments and opportunities for medical education. The MU School of Medicine and MU Health Care are jointly working to improve clinical outcomes, improve patient satisfaction, and provide cost-effective care.
The Rusk Rehabilitation Center, the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, and numerous additional hospitals and clinics throughout Missouri serve as important clinical partners in care delivery. The Missouri Telehealth Network now includes 202 telemedicine sites located in 62 Missouri counties.
Responding to Changes in Academic Medicine
Throughout the U.S., academic medical centers are under pressure as they adjust to declining clinical reimbursement rates and seek new sources of funding for educational programs and research. Going forward, successful academic medical centers will need to better integrate all of their key missions, align their educational systems with their clinical partners, leverage diversity to increase effectiveness, and employ the principles of continuous improvement to enhance efficiency. In the years ahead, the MU School of Medicine believes we can continue to build on our history of success by adapting our methods, while staying true to our core mission and values.
Biography
Leslie W. Hall, MD, MSMA member since 2012, serves as interim dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
Contact: HallLW@health.missouri.edu
