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Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University

Medical School

Mailing Address
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Phone
(561) 297-4828
Email address
admissions@fau.edu
School Information
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, "one of 141 medical schools in the country," launched in 2010 after a landmark decision was made by the "Florida Board of Governors to authorize FAU to award the M.D. degree." The College of Medicine "officially" opened in 2011, after receiving preliminary accreditation permitting them to admit their inaugural class that fall. During the next four years after selecting its inaugural class, FAU's College of Medicine worked hard to earn full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). FAU's College of Medicine demonstrated its focus and priority in achieving full accreditation by having a 100 percent residency match rate for the class of 2015 including "outstanding academic programs in Florida as well as Ivy League academic hospitals." Lastly, the College of Medicine continued showing its ambition through the Integrated Patient-Focused Curriculum (IPFC) - a program based on "the principle that future physicians should learn essential basic science information in the context of patient care, patient case studies, and the practice of clinical skills." The IPFC highlights the importance of "interactions with patients early on [in their career which] enhances medical students' clinical skills; [ultimately] preparing them to excel as soon as they begin their clinical clerkship." In just a few short years, FAU's College of Medicine proved itself worthy and was awarded full accreditation in 2015. Now FAU’s College of Medicine “is one of the newest and rapidly rising medical schools in the United States, nationally recognized by the U.S. News and World Report for its mission to care for diverse patient populations.” The Schmidt College of Medicine continues its “emphasis on teamwork and collaboration [to further the colleges’ dedication to] addressing the needs of its community.” (source: https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/college-of-medicine-achieves-full-accreditation%20.php)
General Information
The Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University strives to “embody a culture of strategic and collaborative community engagement that results in mutual benefit to the institution and the diverse internal and external communities that it serves. Currently FAU “ranks as the most racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse institution in Florida’s State University System and continues to ensure that higher education is accessible for everyone. In fact, “at FAU students from historically marginalized populations, and those who are pell-eligible, outpace the overall student graduation rates at the university.” It is the emphasis on diversity that has allowed the Schmidt College of Medicine, one of the newest medical schools, to rise rapidly and be recognized by the U.S. News and World Report. The Schmidt College of Medicine is formally recognized by the U.S. News and World Report for its “mission to care for diverse patient populations.” They have more than “300 partnerships with community agencies from Miami-Dade to Vero Beach to serve [their] community.” One of many community agencies FAU’s campus has partnered with is the “Bezos Academy to open a tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschool for low-income families – making FAU the first university in Florida and the second in the United States to host the academy.” In addition, the Schmidt College of Medicine helps “more than 500 students in grades 6 through 12 [at FAU High School].” This program has been designed to “optimize health outcomes for all populations, the college’s pathway programs recruit and retain students who are first-generation, from low-income families, or have otherwise been historically underrepresented in medicine to nurture a healthcare and biomedical research workforce that reflects the region’s diversity.” Overall, The Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University's commitment to the community allows them to embody a program devoted to compassionately serving their underserved and diverse communities. (source: https://indd.adobe.com/view/publication/ee54a1c5-466c-450c-8f40-c470c2ebee51/1/publication-web-resources)/pdf/Dean_Annual_Report.pdf

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • Wokeness has now become a requirement at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Schmidt College of Medicine. Year after year, FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine sends out a list of secondary questions to applicants to gather as much information as they can about them. The questions asked, vary each year, but are typically focused on the culture, values, and priorities of the med school. At FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, one of their values and priorities is Within this list of secondary questions, the school asks several questions regarding identity politics. For example, the following questions were asked during the 2021-2022 application cycle: (1) “Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. Describe what uniqueness you would bring to the Schmidt COM. We are proud to already have a medical school rich in cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. What values, skills, talents, and life experiences would you add to our culture?” (2) “As a community, FAU Schmidt COM has made a commitment to be anti-racist and address systemic racism in education and healthcare. Institutionalized racism can be defined as “macro-level systems, social forces, institutions, ideologies, and processes that interact with one another to generate and reinforce inequities among racial and ethnic groups.” As a future medical student at FAU, how can you play an active role in addressing and dismantling systemic racism?” and (3) “One of the values of the FAU Schmidt College of Medicine is to provide the best medical care for all people. A major challenge for all physicians to provide the best medical care are Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). These can be defined as “conditions in the social, physical, and economic environment in which people are born, live, work, and age.” What will you as a future doctor do to address SDOH?” Lastly, the following question was asked in the 2022-2023 application cycle: “The Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine has made a commitment to foster an inclusive environment in which every person in our medical school community has the ability to achieve their full potential. We are proud to have a medical school rich in cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. What values, skills, talents, and life experiences would you contribute to our community?” In each of these questions, it is evident that FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine is trying to gauge which applicants will pledge their devotion to solving social problems and identity politics. The college of medicine appears more interested in an applicant’s ability to demonstrate the ways they have increased and furthered anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion within their community and how that will transfer over rather than producing good physicians.
  • The Diversity and Inclusion Office at FAU Schmidt College of Medicine has a number of Community Engagement & Pathway Programs to support the school’s commitment “to addressing the under-representation of minorities in medicine and biomedical research.”
  • The college's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the college would recruit and retain "trainees and faculty in South Florida that are reflective of our community."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • In South Florida and around the United States the demand to find a Black doctor is ever increasing. The demand for shared experience, culture, and values has increased dramatically over the years as it is in these things Black patients can find “a sense of safety, validation, and trust.” As research has shown that “racism, discrimination, and unconscious bias continue to plague the U.S. health care system and cause unequal treatment for racial and ethnic minorities,” Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine has decided to take action and put an end to the “dismissive, condescending, and inpatients” Black patients may be feeling from their clinicians. FAU’s College of Medicine has designed a new training curriculum in which “medical students are being taught to ask patients about their history and experiences in addition to their bodily health.” For example, students are now taught to ask patients “have you ever felt discriminated against?” or “Do you feel safe communicating your needs.” Racism and health have become a core learning subject for FAU’s medical students from their very first year. Lastly, FAU’s College of Medicine has set up a partnership with Florida A&M University, a historically Black university. This partnership enables “undergraduates who want to become doctors to be mentored as they complete their pre-med studies, and those who hit certain benchmarks are admitted to Schmidt after they graduate.”
  • The college's "Ethics, Professionalism & Professional Identity" curriculum thread states that "Professional identity formation (PIF) is critically important because it pertains to a student’s very being: attitudes and biases, affective self-awareness, empathy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and virtues ranging from humility and diligence to altruism and self-care."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine is currently hiring a Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program – Assistant/Associate Professor of Medicine. According to the job description, these are a few of the minimum qualifications for this job: (1) “experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and (3) [be] passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.”
Resources
  • Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine Library has produced a guide of shared resources about “race and racism for the medical field.” This resource provides “information specific to healthcare, as well as general background resources to understand race and racism as a whole within society.”
  • According to a February 7, 2022, US Department of Labor Blog, the college has "revised its curriculum to incorporate training on the impact of implicit bias in medicine: 'Medical students start learning about racism in health care during their first year, and as they go, they also learn how to communicate with patients from various cultures and backgrounds'.”
Symbolic Actions
  • At Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine’s 10th White Coat Ceremony in 2020, Dean Philip M. Boiselle pointed out that in the midst of a global pandemic it has become evident that the widespread healthcare disparities are prominent and need to be addressed. Ultimately reminding them of their “collective obligation to addressing inequalities in health care.” He continues by explaining “as the newest members of the Schmidt College of Medicine, [they] are joining a community that is committed to addressing healthcare disparities and inequities, to promoting social justice, and to confronting discrimination and bias in all forms.” At the conclusion of the ceremony, students recited an “oath of compassion, which was collectively written.” In this oath students pledged “to be culturally sensitive toward our peers and patients;” “embody anti-racism while actively combating healthcare disparities;” and “commit ourselves to continually expanding our medical and cultural knowledge to benefit our patients.”
  • According to the US News and World Report Rankings, FAU College of Medicine was ranked as number 35 in the Most Diverse Medical School.
Last updated August 11th, 2023
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