The University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine officially opened in 1971 with a unique approach to medical education. Based on a six-year curriculum, the School of Medicine admits students into the program directly from high school. Students graduate with their Baccalaureate-Doctor of Medicine (baccalaureate./M.D.) from the same institution. The curriculum integrates the liberal arts, and basic and clinic sciences within a team approach to learning.
When E. Grey Dimond, M.D., was asked to devise an academic plan for a
new medical school in the early 1960s, he agreed with one stipulation:
"Only if you make it fun." With that in mind, a unique new medical
school was created that would provide students with early and continuous
patient-care experience. A charter class of 18 students joined 23 "advanced
standing" students to begin classes in 1970 at the University’s
Health-Sciences building and a year later, a group of 40 students became
the first official Year 1 class to enter the School. More than 2,000 physicians
have since received their M.D.s from the UMKC School of Medicine.
The School officially opened the doors to its current facility at 2411 Holmes in the heart of Kansas City’s historic Hospital Hill district in August 1974 at a cost of $13.5 million. The School of Medicine is physically connected to Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill, one of its primary teaching hospitals. Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Western Missouri Mental Health Center are located nearby in the Hospital Hill area. Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City is only about two miles from the School, located near Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza district. and Truman Medical Center Lakewood is located on the east side of Kansas City's outskirts.
The growth of the School of Medicine extends to graduate medical education, in which the School now offers 41 ACGME-sponsored residency and subspecialty residency programs.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a national body representing
the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical
Association, has endorsed the School of Medicine and its academic philosophy.
The School of Medicine is fully accredited by the LCME.