Abington Memorial Hospital to Become Regional Medical Campus for Drexel University College of Medicine
Abington, PA (PRWEB) November 20, 2013 -- Abington Memorial Hospital will serve as a regional medical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine under a new agreement signed by both institutions. This designation expands on an already existing academic affiliation.
Regional medical campus is a term used by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to refer to hospitals and health systems which serve as alternative venues for third- and fourth-year medical students to gain clinical education. Under the new agreement, Drexel medical students will be able to complete all of their required clinical rotations at Abington Memorial Hospital. Abington will provide two years of training in core clinical areas such as surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, neurology, and psychiatry.
“We are very excited to build on our relationship with Abington Memorial Hospital,” said Daniel V. Schidlow, M.D., Annenberg Dean and senior vice president of medical affairs at Drexel University College of Medicine. “We believe this expanded affiliation will provide our students with a greater variety of experiences, as well as the ability to learn from some of our region’s finest physicians in a suburban hospital dedicated to serving its community.”
Drexel and Abington have had an affiliation agreement since 2004. Under the new regional medical campus designation, Drexel medical students will be able to select Abington as their primary clinical campus at the time of matriculation and complete their third and fourth years there if they choose.
Laurence M. Merlis, president and chief executive officer, Abington Health, says this enhanced academic affiliation is in keeping with the hospital’s core value of being a learning organization. “Since the hospital first opened its doors in 1914, it has built and maintained an outstanding reputation as a teaching hospital,” said Merlis. “Becoming a regional medical campus for Drexel further enhances our commitment to medical education.”
On behalf of the medical staff, John J. Kelly, M.D., chief of staff, Abington Memorial Hospital, said, “We are so very pleased to expand our relationship with Drexel University College of Medicine by becoming a regional medical campus. While health care is shifting to more care being provided in the outpatient setting, the Drexel medical students will benefit from rotating through ambulatory settings such as our large employed primary care network, Abington Health Physicians. We are all so very pleased for the opportunity to work even more closely with this next generation of bright, young physicians.”
The new regional medical campus designation takes effect July 2014. Margot Boigon, M.D., has been appointed associate dean and director of Undergraduate Medical Education and David Gary Smith, M.D. will continue serving as director of Graduate Medical Education.
Photo Caption:
Pictured left to right are: Laurence M. Merlis, president and chief executive officer, Abington Health; Daniel V. Schidlow, MD, Annenberg Dean and senior vice president of Medical Affairs, Drexel University College of Medicine; Stanley W. Silverman, chairman of the board, Drexel University College of Medicine; Barbara Schindler, MD, vice dean for Educational and Academic Affairs, Drexel University College of Medicine; Margot Boigon, MD, associate dean and director of Undergraduate Medical Education at Abington Memorial Hospital; John J. Kelly, MD, chief of staff, Abington Memorial Hospital; and David Gary Smith, director of Graduate Medical Education at Abington Memorial Hospital.
About Drexel University College of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine has established some of the most highly innovative and rigorous academic programs available today, incorporating the University’s expertise in engineering and technology into traditional medical training. The College of Medicine is home to one of the nation’s leading centers for spinal cord research; one of the foremost centers for malaria study; and a highly regarded HIV/AIDS program with extensive NIH-funded research in prevention and therapeutic interventions. Drexel University College of Medicine has been designated a Vanguard National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and is highly respected in numerous other specialties including cardiology and pain management. Visit http://www.drexelmed.edu for more information. Follow Drexel University College of Medicine on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
About Abington Memorial Hospital
Abington Memorial Hospital is a 665-bed, acute care teaching hospital with a medical staff of more than 900 physicians and more than 5,500 employees. These professionals provide medical care and health services to residents of Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. A regional provider, Abington Memorial Hospital has the only Level II accredited trauma center in Montgomery County and offers highly specialized services in cardiac care, cancer care, neurosciences, orthopaedics, maternal/child health and home care. Abington Memorial Hospital is recognized as a major regional teaching facility offering a full spectrum of clinical experiences from training medical students from local medical schools to three fellowship programs. Abington’s residency program has more than 110 residents in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and dentistry. Residents rotating from university centers in orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, urology and neurosurgery add to the academic environment. AMH sponsors fellowships in bariatric surgery, geriatric medicine and neurointerventional. Abington Memorial Hospital is also committed to training nurses and offers a diploma program at its Dixon School of Nursing.
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Jamie Schutz, Abington Memorial Hospital, +1 (215) 481-2300, [email protected]
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