University of South Alabama (College of Medicine)

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine is a vibrant and expanding center providing all facets of medical education, research and patient care. Supported by the University of South Alabama Health System, the USA College of Medicine faculty enjoys a reputation of excellence in teaching, research and service. The college has received national attention for its leading edge facilities and research.

The University of South Alabama is a statesupported
institution located in the historic southern city of Mobile. After opening to 264 students in 1964, USA now has an enrollment of over 13,000 in the undergraduate schools, the Graduate School and the College of Medicine.

The first charge of the University of South Alabama
is the quality of academics and excellence in teaching.
With this aim, class size is kept minimal; the average
number of students per class is approximately twentytwo.
Over eighty percent of the faculty hold the doctoral degree. The faculty-to-student ratio of one to fourteen demonstrates the University’s commitment to personalized teaching.

The University offers a wide range of curricula in
the undergraduate academic divisions. This diversity
gives you the opportunity to “change your mind”
about your area of interest after you are enrolled at
South. In addition, students are able to earn crossdivisional minors which satisfy those with very broad interests and enhance adaptability in the job
marketplace. The University offers many graduate
programs in the arts and sciences, as well as in speech
pathology and audiology, allied health professions,
business, education, engineering, nursing, computer, science, and medicine. The M.D. and Ph.D. degrees
are offered through the College of Medicine.

In addition to the academic side of collegiate experiences, South Alabama offers a full complement
of out-of-class activities; Greek organizations, varsity
athletics, intramural sports, religious organizations,
student publication groups, professional and academic
honoraries, on-campus movies and entertainment,
scholarly lectures, and other activities enrich student
life.

Mobile, home of the University of South Alabama, is a beautiful historic city, rich in Southern tradition.
Students find it a lovely area to explore as tourists, but
they are even more impressed with the many cultural
and recreational opportunities available. Many of
South’s students use Mobile’s fast growing business
sector as a way to help finance their education through
part-time jobs.
The University is a dynamic and growing institution, with a student body that is enthusiastic about life and about learning. South Alabama is large enough to offer the programs you need and small enough to know who you are and to care about you and your needs.

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine is a vibrant and expanding center providing all facets of medical education, research and patient care. In the undergraduate medical education program, the first two years are taught primarily on the main campus in the Medical Sciences Building. The last two “clinical years” are spent at the University of South Alabama Hospitals
and clinics, as well as in offices of community physicians.
The University Hospitals make up the largest medical complex along the central Gulf Coast and are regional leaders in health care. USA Medical Center, USA Knollwood Hospital and USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital provide the finest in hospital patient care and serve as teaching and research facilities for the
University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
Other clinical training facilities are located at USA Springhill, USA Cancer Center and Clinical Building,
USA Health Services Building and Stanton Road
Clinic. Combining teaching facilities and private
practice, USA Hospitals offer the best of both worlds
for medical students. Within the three hospitals are
housed all major specialties: Level I Trauma Center,
Level III neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric services, restorative care services, Regional Burn Center and aeromedical transport. The USA Children’s and
Women’s Hospital averages more than 4,000 births
each year, more than all of Mobile’s other hospitals
combined and more than any other hospital in the
state.

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine faculty enjoys a reputation of excellence in teaching, research and service. National attention has been focused on USA’s cutting edge facilities and fascinating array of research activities.

The administrative offices of the College of Medicine are located on the main University campus. The campus adjoins the 750 acre municipal park with its extensive recreational facilities, as well as municipal golf course, which is opposite the campus on University Boulevard. There are numerous buildings which are currently used as educational and research facilities by the College of
Medicine and several of these are being expanded
significantly to accommodate our expanding programs
in education, research, and patient care.

Medical Sciences Building
This a modern structure of three stories with a total
floor area of approximately 240,000 square feet. The
principal features of this building are a medium size
auditorium, lecture rooms, and conference rooms
which will accommodate small groups or an entire
class. Instructional quarters are located in the central
portion of the building and contain teaching
laboratories. This area is divided so that each unit
contains space for twenty-four students to
accommodate small group instruction. In addition,
there are research laboratories for the faculty, as well as the students. The Office of Student Affairs and
Medical Education, including the Offices of Medical
Student Financial Aid and Student Records is located
in this building. Some 60,000 square feet of new
research an expanded vivarium, and teaching space was completed in 1998.

Central Services and Administration Building
This building contains the Office of the Dean, other
administrative and business offices, and Biotechnical
Core Laboratories. These Core Labs include
Biopolymer Flow Cytometry and Mass Spectrometry
Laboratories. The Office of Admissions, Alumni
Affairs, Continuing Medical Education, Risk
Management and Rural Health are also located here.

Cancer Center/Clinical Sciences Building
The Clinical Sciences Building, located on the
University campus, was dedicated in May 1981. It
houses both basic and clinical research laboratories,
and state-of-the-art radiation oncology treatment
facilities. As an institutional member of the Southwest
Oncology Group and the Pediatric Oncology Group,
the USA Cancer Center is able to provide patients
with the latest protocols for cancer treatment.

Primate Research Laboratory
This is a 10,000 square foot facility designed specifically to house a large primate breeding colony to provide the University with an innovative and functional research resource for studies using nonhuman primates.

Laboratory of Molecular Biology
This 16,000 square foot biological containment unit has technological features to support research involving
infectious agents and recombinant DNA.

Health Services Building
This is a 140,000 square foot building located on the University campus which provides ambulatory care
for Surgery, Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Radiology, Pathology, OB/GYN and
General Internal Medicine Clinic. Medical Specialties
located in the Health Services Building include:
Allergy, Cardiology, Gastroenterology,
Hematology/Oncology, Pulmonary, Infectious
Diseases, Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology
and the Student Health Center.

USA Springhill
This facility was acquired in 1987 and currently houses the Department of Family Practice clinic, and Childrens Medical Center faculty, and administrative offices. The Family Practice clinic population is representative of the community and includes HMO patients and University employees; the clinic receives about 20,000 visits a year. The Childrens Medical Center provides ambulatory care services to infants, children, and adolescents. Faculty supervise about 25,000 outpatient visits per year.
In addition, portions of the Departments of Pathology and Radiology, the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions are located at this site.

USA Medical Center
The University of South Alabama Medical Center is
the primary inpatient site for the clinical educational
programs for the medical students and residents. This
hospital has been operated continuously since 1831
and has provided medical education for more than a
century. The acute-care hospital is a referral center for
southern Alabama, southern Mississippi and portions
of Northwest Florida. USA Medical Center provides a
variety of patient services ranging from critical and
trauma care to elective surgery.

At USA Medical Center, emergency patients are
treated in the region’s only Level I Trauma Center. Also
unique to the region is SouthFlite, the USA
aeromedical program based at USA Medical Center.
Patients in the USA Burn Center benefit from the
Center’s highly skilled staff, as well as research in areas such as the development of artificial skin. The
Cardiovascular Disease Center provides early detection,
intervention, and management of heart disease.
Also housed at the USA Medical Center are
intensive care beds (Medical Intensive Care Unit,
Coronary Care Unit, Neuro-Trauma Intensive Care
Unit, and Surgical Intensive Care Unit) the Regional
Organ Transplant Center, and the Stroke Center.

USA Knollwood Hospitals
The USA Knollwood Hospital is located on an 80 acre site in west Mobile, situated in the fastest growing
area of Mobile County. The complex includes an acute
care facility offering a full range of medical, surgical,
and ancillary services, a Level II Emergency Department and a modern outpatient surgery facility.
Adjacent is a specialty hospital, which offers inpatient
and outpatient programs for patients with long-term
needs. The Restorative Care Services Program provides
rehabilitation services for patients suffering disabling
injuries and illnesses. The Sleep Disorders Center, the
first of its kind of Mobile, provides assessment,
diagnostic, and treatment services for patients with
sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, and other sleep
disorders.

The Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library is comprised of the Campus site, which primarily supports the academic health sciences, the University Medical Center branch and the USACW branch which support clinical medicine. All sites contain standard reference works in print or electronic formats; current periodical subscriptions and books in the health sciences. Materials at all locations are listed in the University Libraries’ online catalog (SouthCat).
On-line access to MEDLINE, the world’s largest
database of journal articles in the health sciences, and
on-site CD-ROM versions of MEDLINE and
CINAHL provide rapid access to the major biomedical
journals. The books and journals of other health
sciences libraries are available through an international
electronic network.
Other Biomedical Library services include assistance
in locating specific information in any format, user
photocopying services, computer searches, and individual and group instruction in information access
and management.
A microcomputer lab is available to College of
Medicine students, including medical and graduate
students. Sixteen workstations provide both general
and specifically medical software. Computer-based
teaching materials are available, either as
demonstrations or on a regular basis. Individual and
group instruction is available to students.

While these Biomedical Library resources and
services are designed primarily to serve the students,
faculty, and staff of the College of Allied Health
Professions, Medicine, and Nursing, the Library also
serves all other University of South Alabama students,
faculty, and staff.

The University Computer Services Center is a nonacademic department under the division of University Services and Planning, providing computing resources
and expertise to serve the University. USA maintains
three support locations: the Computer Services Center
and Data Processing Services for all three University
hospitals.

The College of Medicine has formal affiliations with
Searcy Hospital, Keesler Air Force Base Hospital and
the Biloxi Veterans Administration Hospital to provide
teaching facilities for both undergraduate and graduate
medical education. The College of Medicine also
conducts a portion of its clinical teaching activities in
other health care facilities in the area. These include
the Providence Hospital and the Mobile Infirmary.
Physicians’ offices throughout Mobile and rural areas
of Alabama are also important sites for education of
medical students and residents.

The primary academic functions of the College of Medicine are education and research. Service is also a function of the College of Medicine insofar as service is the result of, or is undertaken in support of, programs of education and research.

An environment should exist conducive to learning
and research in all fields of human biology and health
care which will permit both students and faculty to
maximize their potential. Scholarly endeavor,
intellectual curiosity, and extension of new knowledge
by faculty and students will be essential components of
this environment. The definition of research shall be
broad and may, for example, include basic investigation, retrospective review of clinical experience or studies related to the delivery of health care. Adequate time must be allowed for faculty to engage in research. Encouragement will be provided to faculty to fulfill their
obligation to convey to their peers the results of their scholarly endeavors.

Human, physical, and fiscal resources must be adequate and appropriately distributed in support of the academic programs to which the College of Medicine
has been committed. Facilities should be such as to permit faculty to compete effectively for the extramural support that is necessary for their research. The health care resources of the community will, if available and
appropriate, be employed in the academic programs of the College of Medicine.

The College of Medicine will conduct educational programs to include undergraduate medical education, undergraduate and graduate education in sciences
basic, and related, to human biology, graduate education in clinical disciplines, and continuing education for practicing physicians.
Qualified students will be sought from the broadest possible range of society and background, recognizing an affirmative action responsibility and need for programs of reinforcement and retention for the
disadvantaged student.
The clinical programs in graduate education shall be
responsive in scope and in magnitude to the health
care needs of the state of Alabama. The magnitude will
be appropriate to the available resources. These
graduate programs specifically should be related to the
needs of the State as defined in the Alabama State Plan
which emphasized a category of physicians referred to
as “general care.” Graduate programs in clinical
disciplines other than “general care” shall be
established and supported when such respond to a
need of the State or when a program is considered
essential for a discipline to fulfill its obligations in
teaching and research. Although the clinical educational programs should primarily prepare
students for clinical practice, these programs should be
of such quality as to provide a suitable foundation for
individuals who wish to enter careers in teaching or
research.

The principal service contribution of the College of
Medicine will be the education of health professionals.
The College of Medicine will establish and maintain
programs and facilities for health care delivery of the
highest possible quality. These programs are necessary
to conduct education and research in an environment
of excellence and will also provide a resource for
citizens who seek health care. The University, through
the faculty with their special skills, is one such resource. This service will be at the primary, secondary,
and tertiary levels. All such service activity should be in
support of educational programs.

The medical school is a member of the Association
of American Medical Colleges and is accredited by the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME),
which represents the Council on Medical Education of
the American Medical Association (AMA), and the
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
The residency programs are also accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
(ACGME). The graduate studies program is a unit of
the Graduate School of the University of South
Alabama.

Academic and professional standards are maintained
comparable to those of other leading medical schools
in the United States.

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College of Medicine Medical School Location

College of Medicine Courses

FIRST AND SECOND YEARS

During the first two years, the student is primarily
concerned with the basic biomedical sciences. To give
these studies more meaning, provision is made for
contact of students with patients during these
preclinical years.

FIRST YEAR COURSES :

* Gross Anatomy
* Physiology
* Histology
* Neuroanatomy
* Developmental Anatomy
* Biochemistry
* Doctoring I
* Introduction to Clinical Medicine

SECOND YEAR COURSES :

* Pathology/Lab Medicine
* Pharmacology
* Microbiology/Immunology
* Genetics
* Introd. Clinical Medicine II
* Public Health/Epidemiology
* Doctoring II
* Behavioral Science

THIRD YEAR

The junior courses (clerkships) provide training in
most of the basic problems with which patients present
themselves. Students learn to apply scientific principles
to the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of human
disease. Seminars, conferences, and clinical rounds
with members of the teaching staff are important in giving the student a rounded perspective of human
illness.

COURSES :

* Medicine
* Psychiatry/Neurology
* Surgery
* Pediatrics
* Obstetrics/Gynecology
* Family Practice

FOURTH YEAR

The senior program is mostly elective in order to
provide each student the opportunity to choose a
program best suited to his or her individual needs.
Each department makes available to the student a
spectrum of general and special courses from which the student selects a minimum of 36 weeks of study, with the advice and approval of a Faculty Advisor. Research may be carried as an elective. Off campus studies (local, elsewhere in the United States, and in other countries) may be elected with the prior approval of the Vice Dean for Student Affairs and Medical
Education, a departmental chair, and Faculty Advisor.
Limited electives for credit are available in the first two
years.
The degree, Doctor of Medicine, is conferred upon
graduating seniors.

Other translation schools in Alabama

University of Alabama (School of Medicine) FIRST AND SECOND YEARS All of the basic science coursework (first two years of medical school) is completed on the Birmingham campus. Students de... Address: 1530 3rd Avenue, South