STORY

University of Las Vegas Medical School: Training the Next Generation of Nevada's Health Workforce

April 01, 2016
viewing the maching in a room

Dr. Robert McBeath (L), president, OptumCare Nevada market and CEO, Southwest Medical provides a tour of the new Southwest Medical "Medicine on the Move" mobile clinic during an event announcing a $3 million grant from United Health Foundation to the UNLV School of Medicine. L to R: Dr. McBeath; Toni Corbin, vice president of operations, Southwest Medical Associates; Dr. Samuel Bauzon, Southwest Medical; Dr. Barbara Atkinson, founding dean, UNLV School of Medicine. (Photo: R. Marsh Starks)

United Health Foundation and the University of Las Vegas School of Medicine (UNLV) have partnered to create an integrated training program for medical students. The partnership at the new UNLV medical school is funded by a $3 million partnership grant from United Health Foundation and comes as Nevada faces an extreme shortage of physicians. According to America's Health Rankings, the state ranks in the bottom five in the number of doctors per 100,000 people within nearly every medical specialty. This physician shortage means many Nevadans have trouble accessing high-quality, affordable and timely health care. The grant from United Health Foundation will help close this gap in access to care. 

The United Health Foundation grant will be used over the next five years to put in place a medical education course curriculum, including population health and hospitality in health care. These programs will support the Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) model that will allow the school's third-year medical students to spend an entire year in an outpatient clinic caring for patients under faculty and resident supervision. The grant will also support the building of three multi-specialty community clinics that will offer a full complement of primary care and basic specialty-care services. These facilities will serve as the clinical training sites for the LIC model.

"There is a critical need to increase access to care across Nevada," said Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. "I applaud UnitedHealth Group for its innovative approaches like the partnership between United Health Foundation and UNLV that will create providers for the future who will help increase Nevadans' access to care."

Learn More

UNLV School of Medicine Awarded $3 Million from United Health Foundation to Create New Program Integrating Medical Students Into Community Clinics

UNLV School of Medicine Welcomes Class of 2022

Website: University of Las Vegas Medical School

Dr. Barbara Atkinson, founding dean, UNLV School of Medicine, comments on the partnership with United Health Foundation to help create a new integrated training program for medical students.