Mission Statement
The mission of The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine is to improve the health of Tennesseans and our society as a whole by providing an exceptional and nurturing environment for the education of students and physicians, by contributing to advances in medical science, and by providing health services of the highest quality.
Message from the Dean
Medical school provides the basis for a career that is among the most rewarding possible. The curriculum is demanding and requires your total effort. Our programs are exciting and innovative, combining the solid foundation needed for a great medical education, while instilling the habits and tools that are necessary to assimilate the rapid changes that will occur in the future.
Our faculty members are dedicated to providing the stimulus and environment to maximize your learning experience. The administration of the College is charged with providing support to you, as students, through our faculty and facilities that will ensure your development as practitioners who are as concerned about improving patient care as you are about providing care. The Dean’s office is available to you. We hope that you will take full advantage of the opportunities offered by all aspects of the College of Medicine.
Accreditation
The College of Medicine is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which represents the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association and the AAMC. The University of Tennessee College of Medicine Residency/Fellowship Training Programs are accredited through the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The College also is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) through the Health Science Center.
Historical Perspective
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine traces its origin to 1851 as the Medical Department of the University of Nashville. In 1909, the Medical Department of the University of Tennessee and the Medical Department of the University of Nashville were consolidated as The University of Tennessee Department of Medicine. The Department continued in the Nashville location for two years.
In 1911, the University of Tennessee Department of Medicine moved to Memphis and merged with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, founded in 1906, and with the Memphis Hospital Medical College, founded in 1876, to become The University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Later that same year, the name of the campus was changed to The University of Tennessee Medical Units, and the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry were established.
In the early 1970s, the College moved toward a statewide system of medical education with the development of clinical education centers external to the Memphis campus. Since the opening of the Clinical Education Center in Knoxville in 1973, additional centers have been established in Chattanooga, Jackson, and Nashville. These centers have enabled the College to provide quality health care, education, and research throughout the State of Tennessee.
The designation of the campus as The University of Tennessee, Memphis -The Health Science Center was adopted in 1985 by The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and was changed to The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 1999. The College of Medicine has an enrollment of 170 students per class currently and has over 12,500 graduates.
Administrative Structure
The College of Medicine includes a primary campus located in Memphis, as well as clinical campuses located in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and a Family Practice Center in Jackson. In 2006-07, the College governance was reorganized to include an Executive Dean located on the Memphis Campus, a Dean on the Knoxville Campus, a Dean on the Chattanooga Campus., and an Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education in Nashville. The College is organized into departments and centers representing the various clinical and biomedical science disciplines that are our research emphases. The campus dean appoints a chair for each department who is responsible for the total operation of the department including teaching, research, service, patient care, personnel administration, and financial affairs. A number of Associate Deans, also appointed by the Executive Dean, are responsible for specific administrative areas within the College statewide. They chair standing faculty committees established by the Dean to make recommendations regarding policies and programs. The standing committees and subcommittees of the College of Medicine are:
- Committee on Undergraduate Medical Education (CUME)*
- Course and Module Directors Curriculum SubCommittee (CMDCS)*
- Clinical Sciences Subcommittee (CSS)*
- Subcommittee on Evaluation and Assessment (SEA)*
- College Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee (CAPT)
- Committee on Admissions*
- Committee on Continuing Medical Education
- Committee on Graduate Medical Education (CGME)*
- Progress and Promotions Committee for each class (P&P)
- Committee on Recognition and Awards*
*indicates the committees on which there are voting student members, nominated by the Medical Student Executive Council (MSEC) and appointed by the Executive Dean.
Office of Medical Education
http://www.uthsc.edu/Medicine/medicaleducation/
The Office of Medical Education (OME) is responsible for the academic standards affecting the M.D. degree program in the College of Medicine. The Office oversees the development and implementation of policies and procedures affecting the academic progress, promotion, and graduation of medical students. The OME, in collaboration with faculty through the Committee on Undergraduate Medical Education (CUME) and its subcommittees, coordinates the four-year medical student curriculum. The OME coordinates curricular activities across the four campuses. It establishes and manages course and clerkship scheduling and assessment, and course and student evaluation. This Office enforces academic standards through appointment and coordination of Progress and Promotions Committees for each class.
Office of Admissions and Student Affairs
http://www.uthsc.edu/Medicine/StudentAffairs/
The Office of Student Affairs is concerned with the overall growth, development, and successful progress and career planning of medical students. Thus, the goal of the Office is to meet students’ individual needs and to serve in an advising capacity to various student activities. Programs sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs include: Freshman Orientation, Faculty Mentor Program, Peer Counseling Program, Student Publications, Residency Placement Assistance, Medical Student Performance Evaluation, Career Counseling, Student Organization Support Guidance, Student/Faculty Award Selections, Graduation Ceremonies, and the Caduceus Ball. Student Affairs personnel seek to enhance students’ non-academic experiences with a goal of assuring that problems are addressed before they have an adverse effect. Students with concerns, whether personal, financial, or social, should not hesitate to seek assistance.
The Office of Admissions oversees the admissions process for the College of Medicine. The Admissions Office advises prospective students, provides guided tours on interview days, manages the processing of application materials, screens applications as received, notifies applicants of interviews, and counsels unsuccessful applicants. The responsibility of the selection of students for admission to the College of Medicine is delegated to the Committee on Admissions by the Executive Dean under the authority of the Board of Trustees of the University. The Admissions Committee is charged with selecting those applicants who are deemed to be the most highly qualified for the study and practice of medicine. The Admissions Committee also establishes standards for admission to the College, which are approved by the College of Medicine, the Administration of The UT Health Science Center, and the University Board of Trustees.
Office of Graduate Medical Education
http://www.uthsc.edu/GME/
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine’s commitment to medical education is to provide “a broad array of programs targeted at the education and training of physicians at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.” As the responsible institution for all ACGME accredited residency programs, the College of Medicine is responsible for the administrative oversight and academic quality of the residency programs that it sponsors. The policies of the University of Tennessee and College of Medicine govern the administration of the residency programs. Each resident is registered as a graduate student in the College of Medicine, and all residents are paid and provided benefits by the University of Tennessee. The UT GME Program is a statewide program with approximately 900 residents training in 69 ACGME accredited programs and 20 additional non-standard programs at participating hospitals located in Memphis, Jackson and Nashville.
Office of Faculty Affairs
http://www.uthsc.edu/Medicine/facultyaffairs/
The Office of Faculty Affairs is responsible for issues relating to the COM faculty including recruitment, orientation, and faculty development. The office is responsible for the development and interpretation of policies and procedures for promotion and tenure, supporting the work of the COM Academic Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Committee (CAPT), grievance and appeal procedures, annual faculty performance evaluation, annual reappointment letters, and faculty retention.
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