Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States. The medical school moved to the Stanford Campus in 1959.
Clinical rotations occur at several hospital sites. In addition to the Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford Hospital and Clinics) and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford has formal affiliations with Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and the Palo Alto VA. Stanford medical students also manage two free clinics: Arbor Free Clinic in Menlo Park and Pacific Free Clinic in San Jose. Stanford is a cutting-edge center for translational and biomedical research (both basic science and clinical) and emphasizes medical innovation, novel methods, discoveries, and interventions in its integrated curriculum.
Mission
The School of Medicine's mission is to be a premier research-intensive medical school that improves health through leadership, collaborative discoveries, and innovations in patient care, education, and research.
Rankings and admissions
Stanford School of Medicine consistently ranks among the top ten medical schools in the United States by US News and World Report. In the 2009 US News and World Report rankings, Stanford was ranked 6th in the nation. Admissions to Stanford is highly competitive; The acceptance rate is the second lowest in the country at 2.6% (only the Mayo Medical School is lower, with an acceptance rate of 2.5%). In 2008, 6,567 people applied and 463 were interviewed for 86 spots. Matriculates had an average GPA of 3.76 and average MCAT score of 35. Additionally, Stanford University Medical Center (the medical school's major teaching affiliate) is among the top 15 of 5,500+ hospitals in the nation.
Along with the School of Humanities and Science, the Stanford School of Medicine also runs the Biosciences Ph.D. Program which was ranked 1st in 2009 among graduate programs in the Biological Sciences by the US News and World Report; for the incoming class in 2009, the program had an 11% acceptance rate. In specialties, Stanford is #1 in biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics; #2 in immunology, infectious disease, microbiology, and neuroscience; and #3 in cell biology and molecular biology.
History
Main article: History of Stanford MedicineIn 1855, Illinois physician Elias Samuel Cooper moved to San Francisco in the wake of the California Gold Rush. Cooper opened the first medical school on the West Coast in 1858, on Mission Street near 3rd Street in San Francisco. The school underwent many changes until Cooper's nephew, Levi Cooper Lane, established a new campus at the intersection of Webster and Sacramento Streets in 1882; at that time, the school was christened Cooper Medical College.
In 1908, Stanford University adopted the Cooper Medical College as its affiliated medical institution. The school expanded and built up a reputation for excellence and providing cutting edge clinical care. In the 1950s, the Stanford Board of Trustees decided to move the school to the Stanford main campus in Palo Alto. Since then the faculty and students at the School of Medicine have made numerous contributions to both clinical and basic science innovations, cementing Stanford's international reputation as a leader in medicine.
In the 1980s the Medical Center launched a major expansion program. A new hospital was added in 1989 with 20 new operating rooms, state of the art intensive care and inpatient units, and other technological additions. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital was completed in 1991, adding even more diversity to the Center.
The recently completed Clark Center (Bio-X Program) houses interdisciplinary research endeavors and serves to reinforce Stanford's commitment to providing the best possible patient care through innovation. The focus of the program is to combine bioengineering, chemical engineering, physics, and entrepreneurship with medical research and clinical education to pioneer the future of medicine through translating discoveries.
As of 2009, Stanford School of Medicine is undergoing rapid construction to further expand teaching and clinical opportunities. Slated to open in Spring 2010 is the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge, which will serve as the gateway to the School of Medicine as well as a new model of medical education by combining biomedical research with clinical education and information technology. Also opening in Spring of 2010 is the Lorry Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, which will be the largest stem cell and regenerative medicine facility in North America. The Stem Cell Research Building is expected to collaborated with the newly opened Stanford Cancer Center to form the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine, which will allow researchers to take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human cancer stem cells. Furthermore, the Stanford University Medical Center will undergo a renewal and expansion project to be started in late 2010. This project will rebuild Stanford Hospital & Clinics and the Emergency Department, modernize and expand Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, replace the School of Medicine facilities to accommodate modern technology, and renovate Hoover Pavilion, the original Palo Alto Hospital, to accommodate community physicians whose practices will need to be relocate.
Looking forward, Stanford looks to create an entirely new model of medical education, one that will enhance the university’s ability to act as a transformational agent in health care and biomedical research. This unique approach embraces cross-disciplinary teaching modalities, breakthrough technologies, and innovative ways to advance training in both clinical skills and scientific investigation throughout the medical school curriculum. In addition, Stanford aims to deepen public understanding of academic medicine by demonstrating how discoveries made in laboratories and clinics lead to profound improvements in human health.
New curriculum
The new curriculum was implemented in fall, 2003. As a consequence of the new curriculum, classroom lectures are reduced from 30 hrs/week to 12-22 hrs/week, and there are no classes on Wednesdays. For the first two years, the grading scheme is completely pass/fail, and there is no AOA or other forms of an honor system as to encourage cooperation among students. In the clinical years, evaluation will be through a criterion-based system and a honors/pass/fail evaluation scheme. Each student can choose from 1 of 12 scholarly concentrations/majors, and students at Stanford learn to think and act as scientists, a unique angle in medical education.
Notable research/achievements
- 1956 - First use in Western hemisphere of linear accelerator to treat cancer
- 1960 - First kidney transplant in California
- 1964 - Demonstration of electrical stimulation of auditory nerve in deaf patients, paving the way for cochlear implants
- 1968 - First adult human heart transplant in the United States
- 1970 - Leonard Herzenberg develops the fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) which revolutionizes the study of cancer cells and will be essential for purification of adult stem cells
- 1974 - Isolation of genome of a virus that causes hepatitis B and a common form of liver cancer
- 1979 - Discovery of dynorphin, a brain chemical 200 times more powerful than morphine
- 1981 - First successful human combined heart/lung transplant in the world (fourth attempted worldwide)
- 1984 - Isolation of a gene coding for part of the T-cell receptor, a key to the immune system’s function
- 1988 - Isolation of pure hematopoietic stem cells from mice
- 1993 - First clinical trial testing methods for preventing eating disorders in adolescents
- 1996 - Discovery that the p53 protein, known to be involved in controlling cancerous tumors, works as an “emergency brake” on cancer development
- 2000 - Solution of the structure of the RNA polymerase protein, a pivotal molecule that copies genes from DNA to RNA
- 2005 - Discovery of obestatin, a hormone that suppresses appetite
Notable alumni
- John Baldwin - Former Dean of Dartmouth Medical School
- Cheri Blauwet- professional cyclist, winner of Boston Marathon
- William Brody - President of Johns Hopkins University
- David D. Burns - Psychiatrist and author
- Amy Chow - Olympic gold medalist.
- David A. Wood - President of the American Cancer Society, first director of the UCSF Cancer Research Institute
- William Frist- Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow; United States Senator, former presidential candidate
- Randall B. Griepp - cardiothoracic surgeon who collaborated with Norman Shumway in the development of the first successful heart transplant procedures in the U.S.
- Milt McColl - Former NFL linebacker
- James Mongan - CEO of Partners HealthCare (MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School)
- Scott Parazynski - NASA Astronaut, veteran of 5 Space Shuttle missions
- Joshua Prager - Renowned pain medicine specialist
Graduate Medical Education - Stanford University ...
... Boards, and faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine are committed to supporting quality graduate medical ... Stanford University Medical Center currently sponsors 79 ...
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford faculty offer a dynamic introduction to human health and the groundbreaking changes taking place in medical research and health care today.
Office of Communication & Public Affairs - Stanford ...
Medical School Events; Additinal Links: Contact Us. Our Staff; Maps & directions ... Find a Person; Contact Us; Maps & Directions; The Dean's Newsletter; Stanford University
Stanford Medical Student Association - Stanford ...
... information about everything you could want to know about Stanford Medical School and ... Find a Person; Contact Us; Maps & Directions; The Dean's Newsletter; Stanford University
Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research
Stanford School of Medicine Home Stanford University Home ... Two high school students who worked with BMIR scientists last year are Semi ...
med-www.stanford.edu
Medical school recollection - Stanford Medicine ...
Chandler (second row from bottom, center) and classmates from Stanford University School of Medicine, Class of 1958 (photographed in fall 1955.)
Medical Center Facts - Stanford University School of ...
Overview History of the medical center. 1858 Medical school started in San Francisco as the medical department of the University of the Pacific
SUMMIT Home Page
The Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technologies homepage. ... The application and use of technology for education at the School of Medicine ...
CME - Continuing Medical Education - Stanford ...
Stanford Medicine » School of Medicine » Education » Navigation for This Section: Stanford Center for Continuing Medical ... The Dean's Newsletter; Stanford University