At A Glance

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine – which was founded in 1960 – provides innovative, high-quality education through its nationally recognized curriculum, emphasizing early clinical experiences, continuity as a guiding principle, integration of the basic and clinical sciences, and innovative teaching and learning methods such as problem-based learning, smallgroup tutorials, standardized patients, computer-assisted instruction, clinical training models, and interactive lectures and laboratory exercises.

The mission of the College of Medicine is to assume a leadership role in addressing the health care needs of the Commonwealth and to be preeminent among medical schools in selected areas of education, research and service.

Facts about the University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Education
Admission to the UK College of Medicine continues to be competitive with more than 2,000 applicants applying annually for its 113 coveted spots in each class.

The College recruits high-caliber students from across the Commonwealth and around the nation.

Approximately 81 percent of all medical students receive some form of financial aid and 48 percent benefit from scholarship awards.

In 2009, UK medical students matched into 20 different specialties for residency. Thirty-five percent elected to stay at the UK Medical Center and UK Chandler Hospital, and an additional 4 percent elected to stay in Kentucky for residency.

The College has one of 10 Triple Board residency programs in the nation where residents can train in Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Pediatrics.

UK is one of a few universities in the nation to have all six health science colleges (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Sciences) all on the same campus as the rest of the university.

The College has more than 7,400 alumni who practice in all 50 states and several countries around the world.

In 2004, Academic Medicine recognized UK College of Medicine as one of eight leading institutions in medical education research.

Research
UK College of Medicine has committed substantial resources to develop modern research space to facilitate basic, translational and clinical research. Currently, UK College of Medicine has more than 253,000 square feet of research space. These facilities house a productive faculty of well-funded investigators who regularly publish in top-tier journals and garner highly respected research awards.

The productivity of the faculty has led to impressive gains in acquisition of extramural research funding. Grants and contracts in UK’s College of Medicine reached $107 million in fiscal year 2008, including in excess of $66 million in National Institutes of Health funding. In the federal fiscal year 2008, UK received 61 percent of the NIH research funding granted to Kentucky medical schools. The College of Medicine accounts for more than 40 percent of UK’s total research dollars.

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is one of the 10 original Alzheimer’s disease research centers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

UK’s Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Center of Excellence is one of only 17 in the nation.

In 2005, the College opened an 181,787 sq. ft. Biomedical Biological Science Research Building — the first of many research buildings the university plans to build within the next 15 years in order to double the research space for the health science colleges.

Clinical Services
UK HealthCare – the clinical enterprise of the University of Kentucky – encompasses UK Chandler Hospital, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, Markey Cancer Center, Gill Heart Institute, Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, Kentucky Clinics, and the clinical activities of all six health sciences colleges.

UK HealthCare offers:

• a team of more than 6,000 physicians, nurses, pharmacists and health care workers all dedicated to patient health;
• more than 140 inpatient and outpatient outreach clinics throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky providing access to nearly 30 specialties;
• more than 80 specialty programs and services;
• radiation treatment facilities throughout Kentucky, including Georgetown and Morehead; and
• highly acclaimed centers, including the Center for Advanced Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery Center and Transplant Center.

In July 2009, two of UK’s programs were ranked in U.S.News & World Report – a reflection of the breadth and depth of care delivered at the University. UK’s ear, nose and throat (33) and gynecology (40) programs were recognized in the study of almost 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UK is one of only 174 hospitals to receive specialty rankings after evaluation.

One hundred six UK HealthCare physicians were named to the 2007 list of Best Doctors in America. UK has more physicians on this list than any other hospital in Kentucky. The list is compiled from an independent survey of 31,000 doctors by Best Doctors, Inc.

One of the most significant improvements in breast cancer care in 25 years came out of a national study of the drug Herceptin headed up by UK oncologist Dr. Edward Romond. The trial proved so successful, it was halted early and now this potentially life-saving drug is being given nationwide to treat certain forms of breast cancer.

UK offers the largest free, institution-based ovarian cancer screening program in the United States.

The Kentucky Women’s Health Registry was the first statewide registry in the nation. The registry was developed to advance the medical knowledge of why diseases affect women differently than men.

Twenty-one UK HealthCare physicians were named to the 2009 list of America’s Top Doctors. Published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., America’s Top Doctors recognizes specialists who are considered among the best in both patient care and research. More than 250,000 doctors nominated their top colleagues, including those to whom they would refer their own patients.