The Kentucky General Assembly approved the construction of the University of Kentucky Medical Center and accompanying medical school in 1956. William R. Willard directed the planning and development of the University of Kentucky Medical Center and subsequently was appointed Vice President of the Medical Center and Dean of the College of Medicine. The Medical Sciences Building was completed in 1960, and four years later the College of Medicine graduated its first class of 32 students. Since then, 3,391 medical students have earned M.D. degrees from the institution. The current Dean is Robert DiPaola, M.D., overseeing 2,278 full-time and temporary staff members, 543 medical students, 261 graduate students, and 757 residents as of 2017.
Curriculum
The school offers a four-year M.D. program including two years of basic science instruction and two years of clinical rotations. In addition, the college supports combined degree programs that allow students to earn MBA, MPH, or Ph.D. degrees while pursuing the M.D. Classes are arranged around a loose block schedule, beginning and ending intermittently throughout the academic year. In the first two years, classes often adjourn by noon, leaving students free to pursue independent study or extra-curricular activities. Since the early 1990s, the college has been part of a model program to integrate early clinical experiences in among the traditional science classes of the first two years. Students are active in the community, running the UKSA clinic affiliated with the Salvation Army, organizing an annual Community Health Fair, undertaking rural medicine externships in surrounding counties, and volunteering independently.
Regional Campuses
The University of Kentucky has also partnered with regional hospitals and schools to create satellite campuses and a Rural Physician Leadership Program to help address the shortage of community-based physicians in the state of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky RPLP was developed in partnership with St. Claire Regional Medical Center and Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. From its realization in 2008 to 2016, over 50 medical students have matriculated to the program to spend their third and fourth years of medical school being trained as rural physicians and leaders. In partnership with Western Kentucky University and The Medical Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine - Bowling Green Campus began training its inaugural class of 30 medical students in July 2018. This campus now also offers an early assurance program for undergraduates meeting certain criteria to gain guaranteed admission to the doctoral program upon completion of their university's graduation requirements. In fall of 2019, the University of Kentucky expects to open another regional 4- year medical school campus in Northern Kentucky, as part of a partnership with St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Northern Kentucky University. The inaugural class will be composed of 35 first-year medical students.
