PRINTNational recognition, local benefits
In the ratings game, MU School of Medicine primary care program ranks high
December 18, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
When prospective students research potential schools, one of the most common factors is rank against other universities. But when it comes to medical school comparisons, rank might not be a deal breaker.
“If your goal is to practice medicine and take care of patients, there’s not a lot of difference between the schools,” says Dr. Jerry Kennett, a cardiologist at the Missouri Heart Center and an MU medical school graduate. “But if you want to be a professor, you need to be in the higher-ranked programs.”
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The top schools in the rankings are typically the ones with prestige and history, but that doesn’t diminish the education offered by MU. The education at the MU School of Medicine is different from many other medical schools. “It’s one of the best schools for primary care,” says Allen Heeger about MU’s medical school. Heeger is a senior at Webster University in St. Louis who has made MU his first choice in his medical school search. “And it has a problem-based learning program, which only a handful of schools have.”
For the program, students complete 10 hours of lecture and 10 hours of problem-based steps weekly, including meeting with patients and experiencing things a real doctor would.
The MU School of Medicine recently received national attention from the largest and most credible medical school survey for the 2008 academic year. U.S. News and World Report placed MU in the top 25 for best primary care programs in 2008.
Medical schools understand the importance of these rankings when drawing students from around the country. But the MU medical school is more concerned with the appreciation that comes from its students, patients and alumni, says Richard Gleba, director for the office of communication and innovation for the MU School of Medicine.
MU believes this is the most fulfilling recognition, especially because in the class of 2012, 81 of the 95 students currently enrolled in the school are from Missouri. Students from Missouri have an abundance of choices when applying to medical schools in the state.
MU is the primary provider of Missouri physicians, competing against nationally ranked schools, including Washington University, Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, all of which received at least one national ranking.
Admission into MU’s medical school is extremely competitive. Only 95 new medical students were accepted into the class of 2012 from a total of 1,344 applicants.
MU School of Medicine graduates are annually accepted to some of the top available residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry. Of the graduating class of 2008, 96 percent of students received their first or only choice of residency programs.
U.S. News and World Report showed that the MU medical school has a 2007 student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 3-to-1. This means smaller class sizes and more interaction among students and their professors.
As far as test scores, MU ranked 88 out of 126 in the MCAT ranking from the Medical Resources Group. The average score in 2007 at MU in the biology portion of the MCAT was a 10, physics 9 and verbal 10, each out of 15 points.
In the United States, Washington University came out on top in the MCAT scores with 13 in biology and physics and 11 in verbal.
Kennett says that the MU School of Medicine program has outstanding results at every teaching position. He says it’s normal for programs to fluctuate in strength over the years due to factors such as incoming and departing faculty, and the strongest programs at the school depend on the time period during which students attend.
In the end, real-world experience sets MU apart. “Other schools prepare students for purely academic life and research,” says Dr. Mark Adams, of Columbia Orthopaedic Group and an MU School of Medicine graduate. “But MU gets people ready for state practice.”
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