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The OU School of Community Medicine
The OU School of Community Medicine (OUSCM) located in Tulsa, OK is a clinical campus of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. It is the first medical school of its kind in the nation. The OU School of Community Medicine is designed to serve the healthcare needs of entire communities, especially vulnerable and underserved populations. OUSCM is guided by the growing need for more physicians focused on serving vulnerable populations, the growing number of people without access to quality health care, and the relatively poor health status of Oklahomans.

History

The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine was founded in 1900 and is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. In 1974, the OU College of Medicine opened a geographically separate, community-based clinical campus in Tulsa, approximately 100 miles northeast of the main campus. At the Tulsa campus, known as the Schusterman Center, programs are affiliated with three community hospitals: Hillcrest Medical Center, Saint Francis Hospital, and St. John Medical Center.

In 2008 a $50 million transformational gift from the George Kaiser Family Foundation allowed the OU College of Medicine Tulsa to change its focus. The gift established the OU School of Community Medicine with the goal of improving public health in Oklahoma, where citizens face critical challenges in access to quality healthcare. The school is seeking faculty and students from within Oklahoma and around the nation who have a specific interest in public health and community service. Students learn the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of acute and chronic diseases in whole communities, as well as the full range of primary care and sub-specialties offered in traditional medical programs.

The Vision

Build a learning community to improve the health of individuals and their communities through caring, learning, research, collaboration and dignity

The Mission

Educate and train a new generation of practitioners with the skills and desire to improve the health status of all Oklahomans

The Goal

Leverage the leadership, education, research and clinical service resources of the OU School of Community Medicine to improve the health of entire communities.

OUSCM Summer Institute

The OUSCM Summer Institute is an innovative, experiential examination of health care delivery in Tulsa during held annually in late summer. Participants in the institute – one of only two of its kind in the country – include first and second- year University of Oklahoma medical students, physician assistant students, students from the OU Colleges of Social Work, Pharmacy and Nursing, and faculty members. The institute allows participants to take an in-depth look at community medicine from a range of perspectives and develop solutions to problems they identify during the week’s experience.

Some students and faculty who attended past Summer Institutes have called the experience life-changing on many levels, but particularly in deepening their understanding of the needs and of the medically vulnerable and the goasl of making entire communities healthier.

The 2009 OUSCM Summer Institute involved 70 community organizations in addition to 140 participants. The 2009 institute was covered extensively by local media and several national media outlets.

OU Tulsa Community Health (Bedlam Clinics)

Community Health, nicknamed the Bedlam Clinics, is an innovative, collaborative program that has provided affordable healthcare to the indigent and underserved in Tulsa county since 2003. Clinics are medical homes to nearly 14,000 at-risk school children, residents of public housing, isolated elderly, single parents and working poor each year.

When the first Bedlam (now known as Community Health) clinic opened, Tulsa faced a plunging economy with more than 25,000 jobs lost in just 18 months. Consequently, healthcare coverage was lost, and hospital emergency rooms became critically overtaxed. Seeing a community in need, the OU School of Community Medicine took a leadership role in facing this crisis and finding a solution. In addition, the model provides an essential teaching component to OU medical, pharmacy, social work, and nursing students. Hands-on training strengthens clinical skills, overall curriculum and cultural competency while instilling an appreciation for volunteerism and efficient clinic operation.

Students

Students at the OU School of Community Medicine are given the opportunity to take advantage of Educational grants and forgiveness for service. OUSCM Students are also allowed to take graduate public health courses leading to an MPH or Public Health Certificate at no cost to the student. Students are recruited from all over the country - with an interest in public health and care for the underserved Medical student. Applicants are admitted to OU College of Medicine and select the OU School of Community Medicine track.

OUSCM students are given the opportunity to take part in clinical experiences at both the Bedlam Evening and and Bedlam Longitudinal clinics, gaining experiencing working with the underserved and medically vulnerable. Students can also participate in clinical experiences at school based clinics in addition to clinical rotations in a multitude of practice areas.

Faculty

Over 150 OU School of Community Medicine faculty are housed in 10 residency programs and clinical departments including: Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Rural Family Medicine. Clinical faculty are part of OU Physicians, an academic group practice that is part of the OU School of Community Medicine. OU Physicians enables its members to provide excellent patient service and care, enhance OU's community mission to teach tomorrow's physicians and develop innovative health care services.

Faculty at the OU School of Community Medicine participate in the Faculty Academy, and Faculty Leadership Courses to enhance expertise in principles of community health and clinical teaching.

OUSCM Web Site