UC Davis Medical School To Consolidate Training Program at New Sacramento Facility
The University of California-Davis School of Medicine held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for a new $40 million facility on the hospital's main campus in Sacramento, where it will move from its current location in Davis, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The new facility, part of a 10-year capital project that will include a new surgical and emergency services building, will allow UC Davis to consolidate its training program in Sacramento. Faculty laboratories and graduate students doing related research will remain at the Davis campus.
Michael Wilkes, vice dean of education at the medical school, said that locating all four years of training -- including classroom, laboratory and clinical work -- at one site is part of the school's increasing emphasis on clinical experience and patient interaction.
Wilkes said, "The focus now is really on the doctor and patient relationship," adding, "Medical education is no longer this fire hydrant you can drink from and memorize everything. We want them to learn to problem solve, and having students from the beginning get exposure to the hospital and the clinical setting is critical."
About 200 first- and second-year medical students will be affected by the transition to the new facility, which could open as early as fall 2006.
UC Davis will pay for the new building through fund-raising efforts and with financial reserves (Maxwell, Sacramento Bee, 2/24).