Wake Forest University School of Medicine directs the education of nearly 1,900 students and fellows, including physicians, basic scientists and allied clinical professionals. The school of medicine also strategically investigates opportunities that will expand basic and clinical research, resulting in nationally and internationally recognized excellence in biomedical research. The school of medicine seeks to leverage its current areas of strength and focus to improve integration of its research programs and to maximize multidisciplinary and translational approaches.
The school of medicine is among the top of U.S. academic medical centers in total funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the 2014 fiscal year, the school was awarded $193.4 million in research funding from federal and state agencies, industry, and other sources.
The school of medicine curriculum, developed by faculty, aims to cultivate physicians who:
• Set the standards for compassionate, collaborative care.
• Lead the way in socially responsible health care and biomedical sciences locally, nationally, and globally.
• Engage in lifelong learning, discovery and application of innovative knowledge technology and skills in medicine.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine prepares the next generation of health care leaders through education, research, and innovation. The School of Medicine is also one of the most selective medical training programs in the nation and encompasses multiple programs, including MD, PA, CRNA, DNP and biomedical graduate programs.
• MD Program: Educating future physicians empowered to transform health for all.
• PA Program: Graduates of the 24-month program earn a Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree.
• Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) Program: Offering nurses a rigorous curriculum, diverse training settings and global health opportunities.
• Doctor of Nursing Practice Program: Preparing nurses to lead, advocate for patients and make substantial contributions to the field of nursing.
• Biomedical Graduate Programs: From the basic and translational sciences to the patient’s bedside, our master, doctoral, and post-doctoral programs place you at the forefront of innovation.
As the academic core of Atrium Health and an integral part of the academic learning health system, research and education are the means – not the end – to accomplishing the goal of improving health for all.
What does that look like? We actively and intentionally integrate research and education into patient care settings and feed knowledge gained from those settings back into the academic ecosystem — so we can improve health starting today, not just in a distant future.
As an organization with a culture of learning and innovation, we encourage everyone to explore questions aimed at improving how we do what we do.
Facts and Figures:
• PA Studies program No. 7 in U.S.
• Nursing Anesthesia program No. 10 in U.S.
• Ranked No. 47 in research by U.S. News & World Report
• 1,418 full-time faculty
• 100+ GME programs (includes ACGME- and non-ACGME-accredited)
• 16 institutes and research-based centers
• 1,900 students, residents and fellows
• 35+ student organizations
Educating tomorrow’s health care leaders starts with our educational philosophy and comes to fruition through our teaching environment. As an integral part of our learning health system, our students are taught to balance science with compassion.
In our medical training programs, a patient-centered perspective is at the heart of the curriculum. With a focus on translation, our MS and PhD students’ studies are directed toward outcomes, improving care and new discoveries.
We are also committed to creating a culture of continuous learning, not only for our students, but also for health professionals at every stage of their career. We believe the best way to learn a new clinical procedure or method is through hands-on training.
Research is at the heart of the academic Learning Health System, and the goal for all of our research is to improve the health of our patients and communities, with an emphasis on health equity. We blend research into medical education and patient care to foster innovation and enrich learning while advancing clinical care.
Our researchers continually work to:
• Discover the next treatment
• Improve protocols and methods
• Develop the tools needed to provide outstanding patient care
Our expertise in informatics and health care innovation generates new ideas and outcomes. We integrate our research into clinical practice via biomedical informatics, virtual health and implementation science, then take what we learn and cycle it back into our research.
With 42 hospitals and 1,500 locations delivering care, we can apply our expertise to health system science and share our effective practices throughout our system and influence scientific discoveries internationally. Our research promotes health care for all.
