Motto | In the tradition of Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann Medical College |
---|---|
Type | Private medical school |
Established | 1848 |
Parent institution | Drexel University |
Dean | Charles B. Cairns |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Health Sciences Building in University City |
Website | drexel |
Drexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The medical school represents the consolidation of two medical schools: Hahnemann Medical College, originally founded as the nation's first college of homeopathy, and the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first U.S. medical school for women, [1] which became the Medical College of Pennsylvania when it admitted men in 1970; these institutions merged in 1993, became affiliated with Drexel University College of Medicine in 1998, and were fully absorbed into the university in 2002. With one of the nation's largest enrollments for a private medical school, Drexel University College of Medicine is the second most applied-to medical school in the United States. [2] [3] It is ranked no. 83 in research by U.S. News & World Report .
The college is housed in University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the new Health Sciences Building at the main campus of Drexel University. The Health Sciences Building will be primarily used by students during their preclinical training. The MD program was formerly housed at the Queen Lane Campus, near the Henry Ave site of the former Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. The Center City Hahnemann University Hospital Campus was the college's primary teaching hospital until its closure in 2019.
The College of Medicine follows a systems-based curriculum that is graded pass/fail. Beginning with the 2017–18 school year, the MD program transitioned into a curriculum known as "Foundations and Frontiers". Designed to train physicians that are adept at navigating the increasingly multidisciplinary healthcare system of tomorrow, this new curriculum includes essential emerging competencies such as an understanding of population health, health informatics, and health care systems and financing. To foster a greater sense of community, first year medical students are divided into six learning societies based on local iconic landmarks: Athenaeum; Liberty Bell; Physick House; Rocky Statue; Reading Terminal; and Eakins House. [4]
Drexel University College of Medicine went through many name changes throughout its history. The medical school began as two separate medical schools: Hahnemann Medical College and Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP). In 1848, three homeopathic physicians began operating the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, offering M.D. and H.M.D degrees, by teaching 15 students. WMCP was founded in 1850 as Female Medical College of Pennsylvania but changed its name in 1867 to WMCP. It was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. Upon deciding to admit men in 1970, the college was renamed as the Medical College of Pennsylvania (MCP) [5]
In 1993, the Medical College of Pennsylvania merged with Hahnemann. Hahnemann had dropped its homeopathic focus by the late 1920s. [6]
In 2002, Drexel University assumed the leadership; this created the College of Medicine in its present form.
In 1848, three homeopathic physicians — Constantine Hering, Jacob Jeanes and Walter Williamson — opened their practice at a Philadelphia pharmacy on 229 Arch Street with the intent to practice homeopathy. With 15 students they began operating the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, offering M.D. and H.M.D degrees. Eventually, the college became affiliated with a hospital and moved to its present location near Broad and Vine Streets. By 1928, the 20-story Broad Street location became the site of one of the first high-rise teaching hospitals in the world. [7]
When Hahnemann Medical College left its original site, the building on 229 Arch Street became the first home of the Female (later - after 1867, Woman's) Medical College of Pennsylvania. The New England Female College founded in 1848 but not recognized by the Massachusetts Legislature until April 30, 1850, is considered by some to be the first American medical school for women as it offered a course of medical study to women. [8] On March 11, 1850, however, several weeks before the recognition of the New England Female College, the Pennsylvania legislature passed an act to incorporate the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. Founded by Quaker businessmen, clergy, and physicians in Philadelphia, "Woman's Med" or MCP was thus the first medical school incorporated in the United States founded specifically to provide medical education exclusively for women. [9] [10] It opened its doors to the first class of women students on October 12, 1850. By 1910, the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania "remained as the only school in the United States dedicated to the education of women physicians". [11] When it eventually became coeducational in the later part of the 20th century, it was thus the longest lasting medical school dedicated exclusively to the education of women physicians. [12]
In its early days, female physician training was opposed by the male medical establishment both locally and from notable institutions such as the student body of Harvard Medical School. Students at the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania were jeered. [13]
The Medical College of Pennsylvania merged with Hahnemann University in 1993, creating four fully accredited schools: the School of Medicine, Graduate School, School of Allied Health Professions, and the School of Continuing Education. In 1993, the college became the first medical school in the country to completely integrate women's health issues into its curriculum instead of an occasional lecture or optional elective. [14] Also in that year MCP and Hahnemann University became part of Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation (AHERF) and were integrated into the Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (AUHS), which included facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, five years later AHERF, which owned eight Philadelphia hospitals, collapsed in the nation's largest bankruptcy of a non-profit health care organization. [15]
In October 1998, in an historic reorganization, the AHERF hospitals were sold to Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a for-profit hospital corporation based in Texas. A new non-profit corporation, Philadelphia Health & Education Corporation (PHEC), was created to carry on the education, research, and service missions under the name MCP Hahnemann University. Drexel University was hired as the university's operator, to bring the same level of expertise to running this academic medical center that Tenet brought to hospital management operations.
On August 3, 2000, former President Gerald Ford was admitted to the hospital after suffering two minor strokes while attending the 2000 Republican National Convention, but made a quick recovery afterwards. [16]
After operating MCP Hahnemann University for three and one-half years, the Drexel Board of Trustees agreed to make its relationship with MCP Hahnemann permanent. On July 1, 2002, two of the MCP Hahnemann schools—the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the School of Public Health—formally became integrated with Drexel, and PHEC continued to operate as a legal affiliate of Drexel under its new name, Drexel University College of Medicine. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the transfer to Drexel University of all degree-granting authority that had previously been vested in MCP Hahnemann University. As a result, all students of the former MCP Hahnemann University became Drexel students and all alumni became affiliated with Drexel as well.
Today, Drexel University College of Medicine has over 1,000 medical students, more than 500 biomedical graduate students, 550 residents, 600 clinical and basic science faculty, and over 1,700 affiliate and volunteer faculty. The college offers a Woman's Health Education Program for its medical students. [17]
Drexel University College of Medicine offered two curricular tracks for the first two years of preclinical medical education:
The College of Medicine's main campus was at the Queen Lane campus of the former Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. This campus housed first and second-year medical students as well as biomedical graduate students and is located in a suburban-like setting in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. In 2006 the university finished construction of the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) Student Activities Center. This new wing included an expanded gym, recreation room, book store, and an expanded lecture hall that can accommodate the entire class of approximately 260 in one auditorium.
In 2008, the university broke ground on an addition to the building: The Independence Blue Cross Medical Simulation Center. The simulation center, funded in part through a $2.5 million donation from Independence Blue Cross, features lifelike robots and screen-based simulation programs. The computer-driven robotic mannequins, called high-fidelity patient simulators, exhibit lifelike vital signs, including heartbeats, blood pressures, and body and eye movements. They can be programmed to display a variety of normal and abnormal conditions and to respond realistically to student interventions such as intubation, drug injection, or cardiac defibrillation. They can be programmed to speak or cry out in pain. [18]
The Center City Hahnemann Campus, located in downtown Philadelphia, was the main site for the college's clinical education departments in addition to biomedical facilities and other health-science and public health programs. Hahnemann University Hospital anchors the Center City Hahnemann Campus, along with the Outpatient Clinics, Lecture Halls, and Residence Hall. Drexel's Office of Continuing Medical Education offers the only Physician Refresher/Re-Entry Course on the East Coast for physicians intending to re-enter the workforce after years of inactive practice. The program allows physicians to refresh their knowledge or gain additional training in order to re-enter the workforce.[ citation needed ]
In 1991, the college purchased the former Elk's Lodge BPOE No. 2 Philadelphia Athletic Club building at 306–320 N. Broad Street for $2.35 million. They demolished it the following year to redevelop the site as a parking garage and computer center. [19] The building had been added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. [20]
In September 2019, the hospital closed. [21]
Located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health is affiliated with Reading Hospital, which is a Magnet Recognized acute care facility. In 2021, Reading Hospital became a 4-year regional campus of the College of Medicine and began training first-year medical students. [22]
In 2022, the university opened a 12-story, 460,000 square foot Health Sciences Building in University City, where the main campus is located. This building houses the University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, College of Medicine, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies. In Aug 2023, the university welcomed first and second year MD students in its inaugural year in the building. [23]
After the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital, there was an increased need to consolidate the various Drexel programs that were scattered across the city. [24]
The future of Queen Lane and Hahnemann University Center City campus is undetermined. But with the programs leaving these campuses to move to University City, the sale and closure of these campuses are a possibility. [25]
First-year students have the opportunity to be assigned to a faculty member for the entire year in a clinical setting. The university offers a wide array of clinical sites to its third- and fourth-year students. Operating large urban hospitals and small rural private practices, the university provides numerous opportunities for the students to be exposed to many diverse experiences. During third-year rotations, the students have the option to stay at a particular hospital for the entire year, or rotate among all the various locations throughout the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware area. Here is a partial list of the various sites:
The Drexel University College of Medicine and its predecessor medical schools have graduated physicians such as Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American female physician; Anandi Gopal Joshi (the first Indian female physician in the United States); Tabat M. Islambooly (the first Syrian female physician in the United States [26] ); Rebecca Cole, the second African-American female physician in the United States; Patricia Robertson, a NASA astronaut and physician; and Sandra Lee, a dermatologist who became an Internet celebrity and star of the TLC TV series Dr. Pimple Popper .
Drexel University is a private space-grant research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry, it was renamed Drexel Institute of Technology in 1936, before assuming its current name in 1970. As of 2020, more than 24,000 students were enrolled in over 70 undergraduate programs and more than 100 master's, doctoral, and professional programs at the university.
New York Medical College is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System.
The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the U.S. state of Indiana and is the graduate medical school of Indiana University. There are nine campuses throughout the state; the principal research, educational, and medical center is located on the campus of Indiana University Indianapolis. With 1,461 MD students, 195 PhD students, and 1,442 residents and fellows in the 2023–24 academic year, IUSM is the largest medical school in the United States. The school offers many joint degree programs including an MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. It has partnerships with Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, other Indiana University system schools, and various in-state external institutions. It is the medical school with the largest number of graduates licensed in the United States per a 2018 Federation of State Medical Boards survey with 11,828 licensed physicians.
The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.
Anna T. Jeanes was an American Quaker philanthropist. She was born in Philadelphia, the city where she gave Spring Garden Institute, a technical school, $5,000,000; $100,000 to the Hicksite Friends; $200,000 to the Quaker schools of Philadelphia; and $200,000 to the Home for Aged Friends, now known as Stapeley in Germantown, a retirement home where she spent the closing years of her life. In 1907 she transferred to the trusteeship of Booker T. Washington and Hollis B. Frissell the sum of $1,000,000 to be known as "the Fund for Rudimentary Schools for Southern Negroes" and to be used exclusively for the benefit of elementary negro schools in the South. The Jeanes Foundation in close cooperation with the General Education Board established by John D. Rockefeller.
The Campus of Drexel University is divided into four sites in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—the University City Campus, the Center City Campus, the Queen Lane Campus, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. An additional location for the College of Medicine is under construction by Tower Health near Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania. A branch campus in California—the Drexel University Sacramento Campus–closed in 2015.
Hahnemann University Hospital was a tertiary care center in Center City Philadelphia. It was the teaching hospital of Drexel University College of Medicine. Established in 1885, it was for most of its history the main teaching hospital associated with its namesake medical school, Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, founded in 1848 and named for Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. Hahnemann University Hospital was fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (1994–1998) was a medical school in Philadelphia that was formed in 1994 through a merger of the Medical College of Pennsylvania (MCP) and Hahnemann University. As part of MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine, the largest private medical school in the United States, Allegheny University was under the new University of the Health Sciences, which also included schools for allied medical disciplines. Prior to the merger, the Medical College of Pennsylvania had been the first medical school to be purchased by a hospital. The new university and other hospitals all were units of the Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation (AHERF).
The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), located on the Health Science Campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of seven schools of medicine in Pennsylvania that confers the Doctor of Medicine degree. It also confers Ph.D and M.S. degrees in biomedical science, and offers a Narrative Medicine program.
New England Female Medical College (NEFMC), originally Boston Female Medical College, was founded in 1848 by Samuel Gregory and was the first school to train women in the field of medicine. It merged with Boston University to become the Boston University School of Medicine in 1874.
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, commonly referred to as "West Penn Hospital", is located at 4800 Friendship Avenue in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 317-bed hospital is part of the Allegheny Health Network. It serves as a clinical campus of the Drexel and LECOM schools of medicine, and also educates physicians through its large number of residency and fellowship programs. It is also the primary clinical setting of the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing.
Lynn Hardy Yeakel was an American administrator and political figure. She was the Director of Drexel University College of Medicine's Institute for Women's Health and Leadership and held the Betty A. Cohen Chair in Women's Health. Yeakel conducted an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1992.
Ann Preston was an American physician, activist, and educator. As head of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, she was the first female dean of a medical school in the United States of America.
Conemaugh Health System, a member of Duke LifePoint Healthcare, is the largest health care provider in west central Pennsylvania, with multiple hospitals, physician offices, and outpatient centers in eleven counties. Conemaugh Health System is located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1850, The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), formally known as The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, was the first American medical college dedicated to teaching women medicine and allowing them to earn the Doctor of Medicine degree, M.D.
Reading Hospital is a 697-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in West Reading, Pennsylvania. The hospital was established in 1867 and is the anchor institution of Tower Health.
William G. Boericke was an Austrian-born American physician and ardent, influential exponent of homeopathy. He is known in the field today as the compiler and editor of the Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica. The ninth edition has endured as his most re-published version partly because of its then final inclusion of a mini-repertory by his brother, Oscar Eugene Boericke, MD, also a homeopathic physician.
Charlotte Yhlen was the first female Swedish physician.
Martha Tracy served as dean of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) from 1917 to 1940, leading the institution through the Great Depression. She created a department of preventive medicine within the college and was the first professor of preventive medicine at WMC.
Harriet Schneider French was an American physician and temperance movement activist. She was one of Philadelphia's pioneer women in the medical profession, and one of the earliest women in the United States to obtain a diploma as a physician. When she died in 1906, she was the oldest woman physician in the country.