Breaking the Mold by Myra Hurt | Page 123

schools and programs, who have had experience with medical students from many schools, is extremely positive. They speak of the ease with which FSU medical students deal with patients in all clinical settings, and their excellent clinical skills for their level of training (the third and fourth year of medical school). The distributed clinical training model, the use of community physicians, and the issue of comparability of the clinical training experience across multiple sites were focal issues for full accreditation. Ultimately, comprehensive central management of a common curriculum across all sites, a robust faculty development program (required for all community clinical faculty), and the ability to monitor students’ clinical experiences with an electronic clinical data collection system for assessment of comparability of clerkship experience were critical to meeting the accreditation standards. The planned funding of the school by the state of Florida at full roll-out is $38,000,000 per year. Based on our experience to date using a mission-based funding allocation approach, this will be adequate to fund the operation of the college. To date, the state of Florida has invested $60,000,000 in facilities and $95,480,329 in total operating revenue for the establishment and operation of the FSU College of Medicine. Funding the medical education program with clinical revenue is not part of the business plan for the college of medicine. Financial diversification by building endowment and research funding is occurring and will increase at a steady rate as the college matures. Staying true to the vision and mission of the FSU College of Medicine as the college grows in size is an ongoing challenge. Changes in class size, beginning at 30 and building to a class size maximum of 120 as directed by law, will undoubtedly affect the culture of the school. It is hoped that the student learning community structure for cohorts of 30 students each will continue to foster a culture of collaboration, cooperation, and teamwork among students, regardless of class size. Changes in the size, composition, and leadership of the faculty and administration will undoubtedly affect the maturation of the college, its values, and its ability to meet the founders’ visions. The ultimate challenge in meeting the mission of the new college involves residency choices and practice sites for the college’s graduates. Until the number and types of residency programs in Florida increase, many of Florida’s medical graduates will continue to go out of state for graduate medical education. Mitigation of educational debt for practice in underserved areas through a state-funded program would also help to recruit and hopefully retain physicians to practice in these areas. These are urgent issues, which must be addressed if the health care needs of the state are to be addressed and Florida’s newest college of medicine is to succeed in fulfilling its mission. Breaking the Mold | 121