UNC School of Medicine
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree along with combined Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Medicine / Master of Public Health degrees.
Established
1879
A. Wesley Burks, M.D.[1]
It is one of the top-ranked medical schools in the country: in 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 5th in primary care and 25th in research.[2] In 2016, the school received $449 million in research funding. With approximately two-thirds of that amount coming from the National Institutes of Health, the school received more federal research funding than any other public or private university in the South.[3]
Facilities[edit]
Hospitals[edit]
The UNC Health Care complex is situated on the southern tip of the UNC campus, and comprises five healthcare facilities collectively known as UNC Hospitals. The four core hospitals are the North Carolina Memorial Hospital, the North Carolina Children's Hospital, North Carolina Women's Hospital, and North Carolina Neurosciences Hospital. Together these buildings offer over 700 inpatient beds and comprise a Level 1 referral center. A fifth core hospital, the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, was opened in 2009, providing additional outpatient clinic space and 50 more beds. These hospitals are surrounded by satellite facilities in which medical research, education, and outpatient care are carried out. They include the Ambulatory Care Center, NC Clinical Cancer Center, and the Family Medicine building.
A Charlotte campus is scheduled to open in February 2022 at Presbyterian Hospital with nine third- and fourth-year students and plans for up to 30. UNC already has similar campuses in Asheville and Wilmington.[8]
AHEC Centers[edit]
North Carolina has a unique system of Area Health Education Centers across the state. These allow UNC medical students to spend clinical time in widely varied communities, from tertiary care in Charlotte to rural primary care in the Western mountains. Third year students have the option to attend all core rotations at Carolinas Medical Center a Level 1 Trauma Center in Charlotte. Additionally, the AHEC centers maintain lists of local physicians who are interested in educating medical students, and UNC students spend substantial time working with doctors in various private practices. The NC AHEC Program is a part of The National AHEC Program.