The Medical College of Georgia, also known as MCG, is a public medical research university located in downtown Augusta, Georgia. It is the state's only health sciences university. The university has five schools: Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Medicine and Nursing. Its mission is to improve health and reduce the burden of illness in Georgia. MCG has one of the largest amount of doctors being recognized nationally in the country.

The university was in the top 3 on Thomson Healthcare Top 100 Hospitals in 2007 and ranked MCG Medical Center among "America's Best Hospitals" in the 2004 US News & World Report. ^[1][2] In 2005, US News & World Report recognized the MCG School of Medicine's primary care program at 40th in the nation and the MCG School of Allied Health Sciences' program in occupational therapy at 28th in the nation, and physical therapy at 58th in the nation. In 2004, MCG was ranked eighth nationwide for resuming education in human resource management by the National Association of Institutional Review Board Managers. In 2005, MCG was the co-winner of the National Research Corp's 2005 Consumer Choice Awards.

History

In 1826, Dr. Antony began teaching apprentices. Shortly thereafter, he and Dr. Joseph Adams Eve received a state charter to establish a Medical Academy of Georgia. The academy?s founding faculty ? Drs. Antony, Ignatius P. Garvin and Lewis D. Ford, who was named dean ? opened the academy in 1828. Its first seven students enrolled in a one-year course of lectures and clinical training, leading to the bachelor of medicine degree. The curriculum was expanded to two years in 1829, culminating in a doctor of medicine degree. The school?s name was changed to the Medical College of Georgia in 1833.

MCG faculty began a campaign in 1834 leading to conventions urging medical schools nationwide to adopt uniform entrance requirements and longer sessions. These meetings resulted in the formation of the American Medical Society, which became the American Medical Association, with its first annual meeting in Baltimore in 1848.

Academics

MCG Medical Center with Fifteenth Street in the foreground

A degree from MCG, an institution whose research, patient care and instruction have contributed immeasurably to the field of health care, is highly respected. Graduates speak highly of their MCG education, citing factors such as small class sizes, extensive faculty support, in-depth clinical training, a friendly environment and the cultivation of highly marketable skills.

MCG has a strong commitment to research, building on a proud tradition that boasts, among other achievements, a cure for pellagra and the groundwork for such breakthroughs as fertility pills, birth-control pills and beta-blocking drugs for cardiac arrhythmias. The university is building on that reputation as never before, focusing resources in the thematic areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes/obesity, infection/inflammation and neurological disease.

MCG fosters interdisciplinary research collaboration, then uses extensive resources to link laboratory findings to bedside care and biomedical industry. MCG?s Office of Biomedical Technology Transfer cultivates promising research, then transfers breakthroughs to the marketplace and bedside. MCG?s distinction as an academic medical center ensures that its patients have access to the latest technology, the newest biomedical breakthroughs and the best in health care.

Campus

The MCG campus is vibrant and thriving, characterized by extensive new construction. Recent additions to the campus are phase two of the Interdisciplinary Research Building, the MCG Wellness Center, the Health Sciences Building and the Cancer Center.

Notable alumni

References

See also

• List of medical schools in the United States
• Old Medical College

External links

• www.mcg.edu -- Official web site
• www.mcg.edu/sah/ MCG School of Allied Health Sciences
• www.mcg.edu/sod/ MCG School of Dentistry
• www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/ MCG School of Graduate Studies
• www.mcg.edu/som/ MCG School of Medicine
• www.mcg.edu/son/ MCG School of Nursing
• MCG history at www.mcg.edu
• Augusta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary