University of South Florida College of Medicine

Dean's Message:
Welcome to the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Thanks for coming to visit our website. We hope you'll enjoy our vision: different and better healthcare for the future.

We believe that if healthcare is going to change and it must then the best place to start is at the beginning where tomorrow's healthcare and research professionals begin learning.

We believe that our teachers have a unique responsibility to re-imagine how and what we teach about health. Ultimately, better and more innovative teaching will produce better care and more high-impact research.

Our structure is designed to encourage such innovation. The Morsani College of Medicine is part of the larger community of USF Health, which includes three other colleges, so that our doctors, researchers and educators do not work alone. Instead, we're teaching doctors, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, researchers and public health scientists to work together to create a community of good health.

Our vision starts even before the first day of class. In the Morsani College of Medicine new SELECT program for medical students, we are choosing students for this unique physician leadership program partly based upon an in-depth assessment of their emotional intelligence. We're one of the first medical schools in the nation to use this measure. We're doing it because we think tomorrow doctors need to be people who can empathize with patients and work well with other healthcare professionals on their patients teams.

The first day of class looks different as well. In core classes, students from different disciplines will learn side by side. That's how they'll be practicing once they graduate, and we think they'll do a better job if they start out learning that way from the beginning as well.

Along the way, we help students follow their passions. Our medical students can enroll in Scholarly Concentrations, learning about such specialties as law and medicine, business, public health, medical education or international medicine as they work on their medical degrees.

Our students are also busy unlocking the research puzzles that will help cure and treat some of the most deadly diseases. In our School of Biomedical Sciences, students are working on PhDs, master degrees and certificates in a broad array of scientific areas. Their study topics range from bioinformatics and biotechnology to genomics, proteomics and neuroscience.

After students graduate, their education continues. We want to make sure physicians and other health professionals learn the latest technology and have their skills tested to make sure they're performing intricate surgeries and other critical tasks correctly. Thats why we're building the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in downtown Tampa. This $30 million facility, which opens in spring 2012, will set the standard for how working health professionals learn.

Together, we're reinventing health education, research and care, right here at USF Health. We hope that once you spend a little time with us, you'll believe in our vision. We're all working for a healthier tomorrow.

Education
The University of South Florida has transformed a community medical school, established by the Florida Legislature in 1965, into a major academic medical center known statewide and nationally for its innovative curriculum with an emphasis on improving health through interprofessional education, research and clinical activities.

The USF College of Medicine, which enrolled its charter class in 1971, was named the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in 2011, signifying its leading role in changing how medical schools teach physicians of the future. Fully accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education, the college awards doctorates in Medicine (MD), and through its School of Biomedical Sciences, PhD and MS degrees in Medical Sciences.

USF new SELECT MD program, in partnership with Lehigh Valley Health Network, focuses on emotional intelligence and leadership development. The School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, established in 1998, offers Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and transitional DPT degrees. Additionally, the college Athletic Training Education Program offers both BS and MS degrees. Specially designed programs are available, including combined MD/MBA, MD/MPH, DPT/MPH programs and an Honors Research program.

To meet the growing demand for a workforce skilled in science and technology, the college proves a wide range of master degrees and graduate certificates in emerging fields, such as biotechnology, bioinformatics, and metabolic and nutritional medicine.

Research
The Morsani College of Medicine advances outstanding basic science and clinical research programs while always looking for ways to bridge the two. The college has led USF aggressive drive to achieve the fastest growth of federally-sponsored research in the nation. Interdisciplinary signature programs in such areas as neurosciences and cardiovascular sciences are researching genetic pathways that may provide individualized treatment and helping reframe how science improves human health.

The college is home to one of the world largest freestanding Alzheimer centers where nationally-recognized scientists work alongside clinicians, and a USF Diabetes Center internationally recognized for more than $400 million in diabetes and autoimmune research. A new partnership to form a trauma network with HCA hospitals across the state will establish a broader trauma research database that may lead to better treatment.

Community Impact
The Tampa Bay region has been enriched by the medical students and residents who have graduated from USF, many of whom remain in the state to practice, as well as the health and economic benefits derived from the major academic medical center discoveries and creative entrepreneurial endeavors. The $38 million USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in downtown Tampa will draw physicians and other health professionals from across the country to learn advanced surgical techniques using the latest robotic and medical devices in an environment that emphasizes team training and patient safety. USF Health partnership with The Villages, one of the largest retirement communities in the United States, aims to provide personalized care to all residents to ensure a healthier senior population.

Patient Care
The college is creating a model where prevention, diagnosis and treatment will be customized to the individual, with an emphasis on health care that puts patients at the center of the clinical experience. The college has developed strategic partnerships with leading hospitals in the Tampa Bay region and beyond. Two new outpatient medical centers, the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare and the South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare offer one-stop patient care services, with health visits, tests and test results coordinated at one location.

These facilities integrate the latest information technology, including electronic health records, and offer students the opportunity to create a true partnership with patients in an interdisciplinary learning environment. The college multispecialty group practice is the largest in West Central Florida. In 2011, 81 USF Health physicians were among the top 10 percent of physicians in the country according the Top Doctors list published by U.S. News & World Report and Castle Connolly.

Office of Clinical Research
The mission of the Office of Clinical Research (OCR) is to provide faculty with resources, information and expertise in clinical research to advance the science of healthcare.

The OCR facilitates the process of conducting clinical research, from inception through completion, with the ultimate goal of delivering state of the art healthcare services to the community in the Greater Tampa Bay area and beyond. We are committed to streamlining procedures and enhancing services for clinical investigators and research staff, affiliate partners, extramural sponsors and research volunteers. The strategic services, education and training, and comprehensive review process provided by the OCR are designed to foster research teams who are benchmarking the next generation standard of care.

The OCR recognizes that the clinical research environment is fluid and we anticipate our services to evolve to meet the needs of our clinical research colleagues within the USF community and to the community at large. Please visit our site often and contact our office directly for information on how we can meet your individual requests.

University of South Florida College of Medicine Degree Programs :

Medicine

Video Presentation

USF College of Medicine White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2015

The White Coat Ceremony is a tradition started by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to cement humanism in upcoming health professionals. Joining medical schools across the nation, USF Health's College of Medicine cloaked its newest medical students in front of families and friends.