Annual Pub 2024 accessible 07262024 (1) - Flipbook - Page 8
K I R K K E R K O R I A N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E A T U N LV
hen the results of a Lincy
Institute-commissioned
study on the economic
impact of establishing
a four-year allopathic
medical school in Las
Vegas were released in 2013, the wheels of
progress began to move to establish what is
now the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at
UNLV. The report detailed how a new medical
school would generate $1.2 billion in economic
impact and create 8,000 jobs by 2030.
W
Following the report, UNLV began the planning
necessary to establish a medical school and
hired Barbara Atkinson, MD, to lead this effort.
With Dr. Atkinson9s expertise and the support
of the university, the Nevada System of Higher
Education (NSHE) Board of Regents approved
a two-year budget for the UNLV School of
Medicine in August of 2014.
Since then, the school of medicine has faced
and overcome the many challenges of
establishing an accredited medical school, as
well as a global pandemic.
The orst two years of the school were largely
dedicated to laying the foundation and
acquiring the necessary resources to obtain
provisional accreditation from the Liaison
Committee on Medical Education (LCME). This
was an endeavor with tremendous support
from the community, and the school received
commitments to fund 52 full scholarships
for the charter class within the orst 30 days
of the campaign. A campaign that ultimately
received such enthusiasm that not only did
all 60 members of the charter class receive
full scholarships, but the school9s incoming
class of 2028 is continuing to beneot from this
campaign.
While working to ensure there was adequate
classroom and educational spaces to support
a medical school and that the educational
curriculum was prepared for accreditation
review, the school was very clear in its vision
to deliver high-quality innovative education,
research, and superb clinical care to meet the
healthcare needs of the growing and diverse
population of Nevada. With that vision in mind,
it was decided that admissions would focus
on recruiting students from or with close ties
to Nevada. Now, with many of the charter class
completing their residencies this year, the
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school will begin to see if this has an impact
on those individuals who left Nevada for their
training, returning to the state to practice.
Based on the Physician Workforce in Nevada:
A Chartbook - 2022 Edition published by the
Nevada Health Workforce Research Center,
39.8 percent of physicians who completed
their undergraduate medical education (UME)
in Nevada are actively practicing in the state.
Additionally, 55.2 percent of the physicians who
completed graduate medical education (GME)
in Nevada and 76.9 percent of physicians who
completed both UME and GME in Nevada are
practicing in the state. This report does not yet
renect the impact of the Kirk Kerkorian School of
Medicine since the charter class only graduated
months before this data was presented and
were early in the orst year of their residency
programs. Still, the data clearly shows, the
more GME programs the school can establish
and the more residents and fellows it can admit
into its existing programs, the greater the impact
will be on the number of physicians in Nevada.
Therefore, the expansion of GME programming
is a major focus for the coming months and
years, and the school is excited to be working
with colleagues from the University of Nevada,
Reno School of Medicine (UNR) to champion
these efforts within the state.
Growth is critical to the school9s ability to achieve
its vision and care for the community. Thankfully,
the NSHE Board of Regents, UNLV leadership,
and our local, state, and federal representatives
agree and have been supportive of this
growth. For example, the Nevada Legislature
and Governor Joe Lombardo approved $9.2
million to support the hiring and resources
needed to expand the school9s class size.
With this new funding, the school has been
actively recruiting and hiring the additional
faculty and staff needed to increase enrollments
to 90 new students per year, a 37 percent
increase. With several offers still pending for this
year, 18 new academic and clinical faculty have
already been recruited and hired in oscal year
2024, accounting for 34 percent of academic/
clinical faculty hires over the past four years.
These faculty play a role in all areas of the school
and, in addition to their role in educating and
training medical students, they also educate and
train residents and fellows, engage in research,
and support the health and well-being of the
