MSU College of Human Medicine Embarks on 50th Anniversary

Green. White. Golden.

The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) was founded in 1964, making this year the 50th anniversary for one of the nation’s pioneer community-based medical education institutions.

 

With footprints that span the entire state of Michigan, the college is nationally recognized for the social mission of preparing physicians for service in underserved communities—a mission that has been in place since the start.

After early 1960's reports suggested an immediate need for additional medical schools in the state of Michigan, MSU Board of Trustees responded in 1961 by implementing a new two-year medical program foundationally supported by other related areas of the university, such as the Institute of Medicine & Biology in the provost's office.

The College of Human Medicine came into fruition after several grants further supported successful development of the program. The Board of Trustees soon named Andrew D. Hunt, MD, the first dean of the college in 1964.

VIDEO: "Formula for MSU Medical School" historical film featuring Dean Andrew D. Hunt, Jr., 1966

At the time, more physicians were needed to focus directly on community health care. So when the two-year program morphed into an official four-year, degree-granting program in 1967, CHM made it a point to train tomorrow's physicians on the ground thus allowing students to obtain clinical training inside community hospitals.

As it reads on the College of Human Medicine website:

"A formal philosophy of placing clinical training within community hospitals emerged. To implement this philosophy, the college formed a consortium of teaching hospitals in several Michigan communities, each with an assistant dean and a staff of faculty coordinators for major medical specialties."

Today, clinical campuses across Michigan—Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Midland Regional, Traverse City and the Upper Peninsula Region—are vital to clinical training for third- and fourth-year (Block III) students, paralleling environments in which physicians typically practice.



Secchia Center, built on GR's "Medical Mile" in 2010, has been awarded LEED gold certification

Differing from many other medical schools, CHM offers two separate locations for preclinical (Blocks I & II) education. Students spend years one and two in East Lansing or the Secchia Center in the rapidly expanding health sciences corridor in downtown Grand Rapids.

Beyond teaching and training some of #meded's best, there's much to look forward to in 2014 for CHM.

Carrying over from 2013 is the MSU Rally For Research. CHM is raffling off a 2013 MINI Cooper, with proceeds going to the purchase of devices used in important research. A laser scanning confocal microscope will help the College of Human Medicine's neuroscience team dive deep into the causes of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. More information can be found at msurally4research.com.

MSU CHM will be raffling off a 2013 MINI Cooper for the Rally For Research

 The second annual Gran Fondo event will take place in Grand Rapids this summer in between yet another rewarding process of graduation (May) for some and matriculation (August) for others. The latter of which directly pertains to us at the office of admissions.

Moving forward, the office of admissions begins 2014 finalizing the second half of this incoming class' admissions process. This entails setting the schedules for all of our six remaining interview days while also preparing for events like Second Look Day.

We, at the admissions office, are also looking forward to breathing new life into how we communicate with the public. We're currently aiming at building our brand through various social media platforms, which includes this very blog.

What you'll be able to find here in the future is more information, not only on the process of applying to the MSU College of Human Medicine, but also critical dates and reminders, student and event profiles among more admissions tips and tidbits. Beyond admissions information, we'll be getting more in-depth with CHM as a whole, giving you a window into the college and showing why CHM is an all-around gratifying place to study medicine.

For up-to-the minute and helpful information on our admissions process or medical school in general, follow us on twitter. The plan is also to be up soon on our own facebook page and more possible social networks as well. This gives our audience more opportunities to interact with our office while staying updated with pertinent information.

Follow us on Twitter: @MSUMDAdmissions

Additionally, we're working on a brand new user-friendly website for the CHM Office of Admissions, so stay tuned as we hope to unveil the new site some time this upcoming Spring.

First thing's first, however, and we're currently going through a terrific pool of candidates to fill our incoming class of 2018. But just like the month of January, everything outlined here is only the beginning.

We look forward to what 2014 brings and wish all CHM students, alumni, faculty and staff a terrific year while also wishing the best of luck to all the applicants who consider MSU as a possible destination for their medical education.

Go Green!