College of Medicine - History and Overview

The College of Medicine, a unit of the Health Science Center, began operations in 1956 and is located on the south end of campus. This location, in direct proximity to university facilities, offers many opportunities to utilize and complement resources of the university in the educational and investigative programs of the college. Joint programs exist with the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the other colleges of the Health Science Center. Also, computational and statistical services are available through university resources and facilities.

The College of Medicine is responsible for several major educational programs. Foremost is the four-year program leading to the M.D. degree. After graduation, physicians enter residency programs. At present, the College of Medicine offers 571 positions in accredited residency training programs. The college offers an interdisciplinary graduate program (IDP) in biomedical sciences leading to the Ph.D. in medical sciences with specialization in the following concentrations: biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics, immunology and microbiology, neuroscience, molecular cell biology, and physiology and pharmacology. The college also offers two-year programs leading to a Master of Science in clinical chemistry or biotechnology and a three-year program offered by the College of Medicine and Warrington College of Business Administration leading to the joint MS/MBA. The college also offers a two-year physician assistant program leading to the Master of Physician Assistant Studies.

Further training is offered through positions for postdoctoral research fellowships in all basic science and clinical departments. The clinical departments conduct frequent seminars as part of a continuing education program for practicing physicians. In addition, some of the clinical departments have assumed responsibility for community medicine programs in communities surrounding Gainesville.

The faculty is dedicated to a teaching program of high quality. The design of the four-year curriculum encourages a close faculty-student relationship. The educational program is structured to enable the graduate to choose any career in medicine. Therefore, emphasis is placed on fundamental biological principles and their relevance to the practice of medicine.

The primary teaching hospital for the College of Medicine is SHANDS at the University of Florida, a modern 570-bed tertiary care facility that is part of the Health Science Center Complex. SHANDS at UF is one of seven hospitals that is owned and operated by SHANDS Health Care, a not-for-profit system affiliated with the University of Florida. The College of Medicine also has faculty, students and residents who provide patient care, teaching and clinical trial research at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center located across the street from the Health Science Center campus.

Students also receive experience at SHANDS Jacksonville, approximately 70 miles from Gainesville. SHANDS Jacksonville has a 760-bed facility with more than 250 faculty providing patient care, teach and do clinical trial research. In addition, there are more than 60 owned or affiliated outpatient or community practice sites for educational experiences.

Further detailed information will be found in the College of Medicine or the Graduate School catalogs. Copies may be obtained by writing to the Office of the University Registrar, Box 114000, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-4000.