In the midst of tight government budgets and uncertain times, Vanderbilt University Medical Center continues to move ever forward in training the next generation of physician researchers and biomedical scientists.
That was the message given Wednesday during the Spring Faculty Meeting by Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.
This spring the medical school received 5,830 applications for its incoming class of approximately 96 students, a better than 66 percent increase in the number of applicants since 2003, Balser said.
Seventy percent of VUSM’s newly minted M.D.s matched to residencies at top academic medical centers around the country. More than half of the resident physicians coming here this summer are from outside the Southeast, cementing Vanderbilt’s growing reputation as a prestigious national institution, he said.
The number of residents from underrepresented minorities has nearly doubled in five years, from 48 in 2007 to 98 in the current year, Balser added.
Vanderbilt is also diversifying the sources of its research funding, increasing the number of faculty members elected to prestigious scientific societies and raising its visibility through national ad and Internet campaigns.
“We’re getting this right,” Balser said. “I’m really pleased with how we’re doing.”
Also during the meeting, the 2013 Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research were presented. To read about the honorees, go here.
