James March-April 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 74
pathways. Pathway one is you graduate in three years, then you get your
tuition paid if you agree to practice
in underserved Georgia when you’re
done for the number of years you got
tuition payments. Pathway two is the
more traditional: you do extra training for your fourth year to [practice]
more speci昀椀ed medicine. Pathway
three is a combined degree, often
a master’s in public health or business. Pathway four is a research track
where you do more research.
Other priorities include research
funding. Our NIH funding increased 20
percent from last year, and NIH dollars
are generally the hardest to get. This
year our NIH funding will end up being
$72 million. We aspired to be 68th and
this year we expect to be 63rd. We
aspire to be in the top 60 by 2030.
The good news is our $99.8 million
from the governor to build a translational research building because we’re
running out of space. … The goal is to
keep them in Georgia and not export
them to other states. We’re working
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with other medical schools in Georgia to have more Peach State Scholar
programs. That entails getting more
residency slots in Georgia.
Q Why was the curriculum changed
and what bene昀椀ts have those changes brought?
A The curriculum was changed because it was stale and hadn’t been
changed or a long time. We thought
it wasn’t preparing students for the
changing scene in medicine. We had
two years in the core/basic science
classes format and shortened it to 18
months. We had students learn telehealth in the 昀椀rst few months of medical school. Standardized patients are
like actors, and they come in and the
student examines them. We do more
small group learning and case-based
learning. We do some simulations
with mannequins. We also teach
them ultrasound early. I never learned
ultrasound in my education. They’re
getting immersed in techniques and
modes of care for patients.
We’ve always done a lot of rural
telemedicine, rural ED [emergency
