One Medical School - Two Campuses

The University of Missouri School of Medicine produces more of the state’s practicing doctors than any other medical school. But for many Missourians, particularly those in rural areas, access to primary care physicians remains a significant problem. To address that issue, the MU School of Medicine launched its class-expansion project. The creation of the Springfield Clinical Campus was a key part of that plan.

The SCC opened in 2016 as a collaboration between MU and CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals. The early returns have been positive for students, attending physicians and patients. The long-term results could benefit the people of Missouri generally and Southwest Missouri specifically as more well-trained physicians with connections to the area are developed.

“I am very impressed with the quality of students coming through the program,” said William Moore, MD, who practices internal medicine at CoxHealth. “They are very bright and have the talent and skills needed to be outstanding physicians in the future. They have helped me with the most recent and cutting-edge information in my practice, and my patients appreciate their input in their care.

“My hope is that by introducing them to the community and the health care environment in Southwest Missouri, they will make plans to become permanent members of our health care team. I think this is the ultimate goal for students here in Springfield.”

MU’s class-expansion project is designed to increase entering class sizes from 96 to 128. All medical students spend their first two years on the Columbia campus learning basic science from real cases through the patient-based learning curriculum. Students have the option of spending their third and fourth years gaining clinical experience in either Columbia or Springfield.

All seven basic clerkships are available in Springfield. There are two associate directors for each clerkship — one from CoxHealth and one from Mercy — and students can rotate between health systems, even in the same block.

SCC’s founding associate dean, Andy Evans, MD, provided a solid foundation. In 2018, he returned to private practice, and C. Mark Costley, MD, a longtime physician in nearby Monett, took over as interim associate dean. Costley continues to recruit physician faculty and build local partnerships to expand and grow MU’s Springfield Clinical Campus program.

The Springfield Clinical Campus collaboration actually goes beyond MU, CoxHealth and Mercy. The Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Burrell Behavioral Health, the Federal Medical Center for Prisoners and the Jordan Valley Community Health Center also offer support. Missouri State University provides access to its Student Health Services, IT department, library and recreation center.

The medical students have become a part of the communities of Southwest Missouri. They have completed clinical rotations in Aurora, Monett, Nixa and Strafford. They’ve provided hundreds of volunteer hours with local organizations such as the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s GO CAPS program that gives high school students a chance to explore career options, the Child Advocacy Center that helps victims of abuse, the Convoy of Hope disaster relief charity and the Ronald McDonald House.

“The creation of our Springfield clinical campus in partnership with CoxHealth and Mercy is a great example of a true collaboration that will have a lasting impact on increasing the number of well-trained physicians for our state,” said Patrick Delafontaine, MD, the Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean of the MU School of Medicine. “We are very grateful for the support of the university, legislature and the community in Springfield and beyond.”

The first group of nine Springfield students began in August 2016. All nine students graduated with Step 2 scores comparable to their Columbia peers, and all matched in their chosen specialties for their residencies. One of the benefits for Springfield students is the one-on-one attention they receive from attending physicians.

“I’ve gotten to do a lot more than other students across the whole U.S.,” said Jakob Allen, MD, a 2018 graduate now serving a plastic surgery residency at the University of Tennessee-Memphis. “This is a unique situation and something all my interviewers wanted to ask me about. I have a lot of examples of being in surgeries and telling them some of those basic fundamental skills that first-year residents or second-year residents would usually do.”

Subsequent incoming Springfield classes had 11 students in 2017 and 10 in 2018. A big jump will be made in 2019 when 29 students are slated to arrive.

MU medical students are a select and mostly homegrown group. For example, the entering M1 class of 2018 was culled from a record 2,671 applicants. The 112 who were admitted carried an undergraduate GPA of 3.73 and an average MCAT score of 77 percent. The group has roots in the state, as 85 percent of the M1s are Missouri residents.

As the class sizes grow, the hope is that more students will provide a vital service to the health of their state as practicing physicians.

The inaugural class of medical students at the Springfield Clinical Campus, University of Missouri - Columbia, and below, the campus building.

“From a physician’s perspective, teaching these students has inspired me to stay sharp and abreast of new medical developments and be better prepared and has brought new energy to my daily practice,” said Bradley Wyrsch, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Mercy Springfield. “Many of my colleagues have expressed similar experiences. My patients have been very willing to allow student involvement and evaluation in the clinic and seem to be aware of the importance they provide to medical education.

“Having these outstanding young men and women in our community will benefit our medical facilities in regards to recruiting and attracting young physicians to practice in Southwest Missouri. These future physicians will be providing excellent care to the people of our community for years to come.”