Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale begins inaugural medical school class
Jul 28, 2017, 5:07 AM
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX– For the first time at the hospital located in Scottsdale, Arizona, a class will be pursing their degree from its school.
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, also called Mayo Med School, began instruction last week at its metro Phoenix campus in Scottsdale. Its inaugural class includes 50 students, 10 of whom are from Arizona or with ties to the state.
The small school got started at its parent organization in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1972. For the first time, the school has expanded to include other classes nationally, bringing the Mayo Clinic studies to Scottsdale and Jacksonville.
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine anticipates the student body will grow to 200 by the time the first class graduates in 2020.
“Imagine being able to learn at not only the No. 1 hospital in Arizona, but a No. 1 hospital in Florida and the No. 1 hospital in the nation in Rochester,” said Dr. Fredric Meyer, executive dean of education at Mayo Clinic, on its website. “Students will bring that knowledge back to their home campus and community. It will also strengthen their learning foundation for residencies, as our goal is to give our students unique learning experiences with many diverse patient populations across multiple care settings.”
The first years of medical school are dominated by science-related coursework that covers topics such as anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and therapeutics.
Students also complete a basic doctoring class that teaches them how to take a patient’s history and conduct a physical exam. Students will simultaneously complete an Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic certificate program in the science of healthcare delivery.
A decade ago, there were no medical schools in Phoenix, the nation’s fifth-largest city. Mayo Med School joins four other schools that have changed that.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix was the first to open in the area in 2007.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine now has independently accredited medical schools in Phoenix and Tucson. The Phoenix medical school graduates about 80 doctors each year.
Creighton University also opened a medical school site in Phoenix, training third- and fourth-year students at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. Midwestern University in Glendale and A.T. Still University in Mesa run osteopathic medical schools.
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is an accredited medical school. It also has campuses in Minnesota and Florida.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
