The University of Arizona College of Medicine is the only MD granting medical school in the state of Arizona. It has two campuses: the Tucson campus is located at the Arizona Health Sciences Center and University Medical Center, and the Phoenix campus is located at the remodeled Phoenix Union High School as part of the Translational Genomics Research Institute. It is associated with the University of Arizona, and is governed by the Arizona Board of Regents. Currently, the college only accepts students who are residents of Arizona.

History

The school was founded in 1967 with a class of 32 students on its Tucson campus.

In 1974, the University of Arizona received $5.5 million USD from the Arizona state legislature to renovate its football stadium. A provision of this legislation (ARS 15-1630) prohibited University Medical Center from performing abortions (unless the mother's life is in jeopardy) or teaching its medical students abortion procedures. This legislation is still in effect, and could potentially impact every public medical school in Arizona, making Arizona the only state which prohibits the teaching of abortion in public universities. To address this issue, Planned Parenthood implemented a rotation for obstetrics and gynecology residents to receive abortion training. Interested residents and medical students have the ability to utilize such resources to study the medical and surgical procedures of abortion. Second and third year Ob/Gyn residents have scheduled time available to pursue training. Medical students may pursue training on an elective basis.

In 2004, the Arizona Board of Regents and the Arizona Legislature approved a plan to expand the medical school to a second, downtown Phoenix campus. The plan includes a rare and historic collaboration between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, and a partnership with the neighboring Translational Genomics Research Institute. The 16 acre campus, centered around the renovated Phoenix Union High School buildings, will eventually be expanded to include students from the College of Pharmacy, buildings for research, as well as an academic hospital. The first 24 students arrived in the fall of 2007, and the program is planned to be expanded to 150 students in the future, more than doubling the number of MD physicians graduating in the state each year.

As of 2008, the college has graduated 3,000 students. ^[1]

Education

The standard curriculum is a four-year program which currently graduates approximately 110 students per year. The inaugural class the Phoenix campus currently has 24 students, expected to graduate in 2011. Enrollment at the Phoenix campus will ultimately be increased to 150 per class.

The curriculum, recently changed in 2005, is block-based with students rotating through each of several organ systems for a period of time, and receive a grade in each block based on several competencies. Grades in the first two years are pass/fail. In the last two years, students may choose to do clinical clerkships in either the Tucson or Phoenix area hospitals. Grading in the last two years is Pass/Fail/Honors. The curriculum requires that students own a laptop. This system is based on the curriculum of other schools like Stanford. The previous curriculum was the more traditional semester based system.

The college also awards MD/MPH, MD/PhD, and MD/MBA joint degrees.

Faculty

The University of Arizona is home to numerous noted faculty, such as Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Keith Joiner is the current dean.

References

1. ↑ UA College of Medicine - The College