Dean ’ s Message
As dean of this outstanding college of medicine , I have a unique vantage point . I see the wonderful work that our students , faculty , alumni and staff accomplish . It is impressive and a challenge to distill into one annual report . Please know that listed on the following pages are just some of the recent successes our college has had since the publication of our last report .
I have been a part of this college for nearly 23 years — almost since the very beginning when , in 2000 , the Florida Legislature established the Florida State University College of Medicine . Since then , I have watched it grow from the original graduating class of 27 in 2005 to the 110-plus we now graduate annually . In 2023 , we saw our largest graduating class to date – 125 . Those alumni , added to the 110 who graduated in May 2024 , push the number of physician alumni to 1,956 , with more than half living and working in the state of Florida , and most in primary care , which is at the heart of our mission .
Also central to our mission is the imperative to be responsive to community needs . To be successful , medical education must be nimble and grow to address an ever-changing landscape . How do we do this ? One example is our Physician Assistant ( PA ) program , which accepted its first class of 40 students in 2017 . Since then , 255 have graduated and are now helping to care for patients in the state of Florida and beyond . PAs play a vital role in the health care delivery system , particularly since there is a shortage of physicians in Florida and the entire country . In a March report , the Association of American Medical Colleges ( AAMC ) projects that the United States will have a shortage of 86,000 physicians by 2036 .
Pathway programs have also been key to our success and growth . These programs ensure medical education is open to people from all walks of life — those from non-traditional or disadvantaged backgrounds who have the desire and aptitude to be outstanding health care providers . Examples include our Bridge to Clinical Medicine master ’ s program , the USSTRIDE ( Undergraduate Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence ) program for undergraduate students , as well as the SSTRIDE program available to students from designated middle and high schools . In addition , the most recent M . D . graduating class featured students from both our Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences and Honors Medical Scholars programs . Each of these opens the doors to medical education for promising students .