Phone +1 216-368-2000 Number of students 1,206 Dean Pamela B. Davis | Established 1843 Website case.edu/medicine Founded 1843 Academic staff 11,049 | |
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Address 2109 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Notable alumni Similar Cleveland Clinic Lerner C, Case School of Engineering, Weatherhead School of Management, Case School of Dental M, Case Western Reserve Profiles | ||
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine (CWRU SOM, CaseMed) is one of the graduate schools of Case Western Reserve University, and is located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The School of Medicine is among the top 25 medical schools in the United States and is the top-ranked medical school of Ohio in research per U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Case School of Medicine is the largest biomedical research center in Ohio. In 2015, the average MCAT score for the entering class was 36.
Contents
- History
- Notable alumni and faculty
- Alumni
- Faculty
- Public health
- Other
- Ranking
- Education
- Small group learning
- Primary teaching hospitals
- Other teaching affiliates
- Societies
- Doc Opera
- Role in Cleveland and Ohio
- In popular culture
- References
The Dean of the medical school is Pamela B. Davis. Prospective students have the option of three degree paths leading to a medical degree at the School of Medicine: the "University Program" whose origins go back to 1843, the "College Program" at the Cleveland Clinic started in 2002; and the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP).
In 2002, the School of Medicine became only the third institution in history to receive the best review possible from the body that grants accreditation to U.S. and Canadian medical degree programs, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
History
On November 1, 1843, five faculty members and sixty-seven students began the first medical lectures at the Medical Department of Western Reserve College (also known as the Cleveland Medical College).
The School of Medicine has trained medical students, served the community, and been at the forefront of discovery in the City of Cleveland for over 165 years.
Women in Medicine: In 1852, the medical school became the second in the U.S. to graduate a woman, Nancy Talbot Clarke. 1854 MD alumna, Emily Blackwell became the third woman in the US to receive a regular medical degree. Six of the first seven women in the United States to receive medical degrees from recognized allopathic medical schools graduated from Western Reserve University between 1850 and 1856.
Flexner Survey:
In 1909, Arbraham Flexner, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University surveyed and evaluated each of the one hundred and fifty-five medical schools then extant in North America. The results of his investigation proved shocking: most "medical schools," for example, had entrance requirements no more stringent than either high school diploma or "rudiments or the recollection of a common school education."
Only sixteen schools required at least two years of college as an entrance requirement, and of these, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Western Reserve were still the only ones to require an undergraduate degree. Although Johns Hopkins represented his ideal, Flexner also singled out the Medical Department of Western Reserve University for its praiseworthy admission standards and facilities. Flexner referred to Western Reserve as "already one of the substantial schools in the country." In a letter to Western Reserve president Charles Franklin Thwing he said, "The Medical Department of Western Reserve University is, next to Johns Hopkins..., the best in the country."
Western Reserve Curriculum: A little over forty years later, in 1952, the Western Reserve University School of Medicine revolutionized medical education with the "new curriculum of 1952" and more advanced stages in 1968. This was the most progressive medical curriculum in the country at that time, integrating the basic and clinical sciences.
Research History: Development of the modern technique for human blood transfusion using a cannula to connect blood vessels; first large-scale medical research project on humans in a study linking iodine with goiter prevention; pioneering use of drinking water chlorination; discovery of the cause of ptomaine food poisoning and development of serum against it and similar poisons; first surgical treatments of coronary artery disease; discovery of early treatment of strep throat infections to prevent rheumatic fever; development of an early heart-lung machine to be used during open-heart surgery; discovery of the Hageman factor in blood clotting, a major discovery in blood coagulation research; first description of how staphylococcus infections are transmitted, leading to required hand-washing between patients in infant nurseries; first description of what was later named Reye's syndrome; research leading to FDA approval of clozapine, the most advanced treatment for schizophrenia in 40 years at the time; discovery of the gene for osteoarthritis; and creation with Athersys, Inc., of the world's first human artificial chromosome.
Integrated MD-PhD Training: In 1956, CWRU School of Medicine began an explicit M.D. and Ph.D. dual-degree training program. This served as a template for other research medical schools who quickly adopted the idea. In 1964, the National Institutes of Health began to fund some of these programs through its prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Today, the MSTP trains nearly a thousand students at any given time.
CaseMed Today: Today the CWRU School of Medicine is the largest biomedical research institution in Ohio and one of the largest in the nation, as measured by funding received from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine has eight Nobel Prize holders among its alumni and former and current faculty, and also has graduates who have distinguished themselves as U.S. Surgeons General: Jesse Steinfeld, MD, and David Satcher, MD, PhD, and the current the Director of the CDC, Julie Gerberding, MD.
Notable alumni and faculty
Alumni
Faculty
Public health
Other
Ranking
2010 US News and World Report National Rankings
2008 NIH research rankings
Education
Building on its reputation for innovation in medical education, the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine introduced the WR2 curriculum with the class entering in 2006. The goal of the new curriculum is to unite the disciplines of medicine and public health. It is designed to emphasize independent study, and scheduling choices, while providing mentored experiences in research during the first 18 months of school. All students are required to complete a dedicated four-month research block during their second, third, or fourth year of study.
Small group learning
Small group learning is a central part of the curriculum. Students are required to review selected readings and engage in their own research to prepare for these sessions. When the group convenes, the students discuss their findings, driving an active and engaged learning process. Furthermore, the participation guidelines are structured in a manner to simulate the type of small-group experiences students will encounter with attending physicians in their clinical years (as medical students and medical residents).
Primary teaching hospitals
Other teaching affiliates
Societies
Case Medical School is divided into four societies named after famous CaseMed alums. Upon matriculation, students in the University Program are assigned to a society. Each has a Society Dean who serves as an academic adviser to the students. The societies are:
Every year, the four societies compete in "ISC Picnic" for the infamous Society Cup in a series of events (e.g. soccer, flag football, relay races etc.) to test physical talents of the students in each society.
Doc Opera
Every year, students at Case Western Reserve SOM write, direct and perform a full length musical parody, lampooning Case Western Reserve, their professors, and themselves. In recent years, the show has been a benefit for the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland.
Role in Cleveland and Ohio
During 2007, the economic impact of the School of Medicine and its affiliates on the State of Ohio equaled $5.82 billion and accounted for more than 65,000 Ohio jobs. The role of Case Western Reserve University in the Cleveland economy has been reported on by The Economist magazine.