MCG, UGA to expand teaching, research initiatives
by Toni Baker
MCG is working with the University of Georgia to expand teaching and research initiatives. Plans include expanding the School of Medicine to include a campus in Athens that will enroll 40 freshmen by fall semester 2009, said Dr. D. Douglas Miller, medical school dean.
“Georgia and the nation need more doctors,” said Dr. Miller, adding that Georgia ranks 37th in the nation in the number of physicians per total population, with significant geographic, ethnic and specialty maldistribution.
“Despite our large medical school class size of 190 and the fact Georgia also has three private medical schools, the state ranks 34th in the number of medical students per total population. With our existing teaching facilities and faculty in Augusta, we cannot expand further,” said Dr. Miller.
To enhance students’ clinical experience across Georgia, the medical school established its first clinical campus, Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, in Albany in late 2005 and is pursuing a similar campus based in Savannah. MCG medical students also do clinical rotations in hundreds of physicians’ offices – many of them alumni – across Georgia. Rotations expose students to different practice opportunities in underserved areas of the state.
The School of Medicine’s fall expansion in class size, from 180 to the current 190, was the first since 1974. The Association of American Medical Colleges has recommended that all medical schools increase class size 30 percent by 2015.
MCG has informed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits medical schools, of its plans to significantly increase its class size with the Athens expansion, Dr. Miller said. “Both partners are aware of the importance of the LCME’s oversight of the process and, eventually, its approval.”
The feasibility of a separate regional campus in Athens is being tested in a joint planning process that includes MCG President Daniel W. Rahn and UGA President Michael Adams. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has proposed $3.8 million in the state budget for planning purposes.
The potential site for the campus is the 58-acre U.S. Naval Supply Corps School in Athens, scheduled for closure by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Navy School Local Redevelopment Authority is considering several proposals for the property, which has classroom and dormitory facilities.
The Athens campus should enhance biomedical research collaboration between MCG and UGA, Dr. Miller said. “This work also will ultimately improve the health of Georgians. This is potentially a win-win situation for both universities, but most importantly for the citizens of our state.”
The MCG School of Nursing has operated a satellite campus in Athens since 1974. UGA pharmacy students also spend time in Augusta on the MCG campus.