HISTORY OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AT FSU
Florida State University has a long history of undergraduate medical education,
beginning in 1970 when the University of Florida College of Medicine
established a geographically separate, cooperative program at FSU, with the
express purpose of recruiting students from the rural panhandle region of Florida
to study and ultimately practice medicine. This program, the Program in Medical
Sciences (known as PIMS), delivered the first year of basic science education to
30 medical students annually, who then transferred to the University of Florida
College of Medicine for the remaining three years of their medical education.
The first year of medical school at FSU was a three-semester experience,
beginning in the summer, which allowed for community-based clinical experiences
throughout the first year of medical school. A culture centered on a student
learning community developed early. This community structure included a physical
space to which the 30 students had access 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
and was by philosophy dedicated to encouraging cooperative learning among the
class of 30 students.
The PIMS admission process featured recruitment of a diverse class of students,
diverse in ethnic and demographic backgrounds, life experiences, and ages.
Students from medically underserved communities and nontraditional students
were sought. The ideal student applicant had the academic evidence predictive of
success in medical school, excellent communication skills, and a record of service
to others. In 1994, an outreach pipeline to medically underserved populations,
particularly African Americans, was initiated and featured academic enrichment,
motivational experiences, and student mentors.
The Program in Medical Sciences was accredited throughout its history as a
geographically separate campus of the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Its separate admission process was restricted to students from FSU, Florida A&M
University, and the University of West Florida until 1992. In 1992, the PIMS at
FSU opened its admission process (operated within the American Medical College
Application Service) to any legal resident of the state of Florida. From 1993 until
2001, about 1,100 –1,200 individuals applied for admission each year. Over the 30
years of the program’s existence, about 50% of the PIMS students entered generalist
specialties upon graduation from medical school and over 60% of the program’s
alumni have chosen to practice medicine in Florida, many in North Florida. The
final PIMS class transferred to the University of Florida in 2001, graduating in 2004.
From almost the first days of the program’s history, the leadership of PIMS and FSU
talked of founding a medical school, using the PIMS experience as a foundation.
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