St. George’s University School of Medicine has added four new US clinical sites, offering medical students more locations to gain hands-on training.
Two of the hospitals—Tucson Medical Center in Tucson and Abrazo Community Health Network in Phoenix—are the first two located within the state of Arizona. The other two locations are Georgia Regional Hospital at Atlanta in Decatur, GA and Southern Winds Hospital in Hialeah, FL.
Including the recently added Illinois-based UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange, the new sites add to the 75+ SGU clinical affiliate locations in the US and UK. Importantly the new locations further expand SGU’s breadth of clinical locations outside of the Northeast.
“All of us at SGU are ecstatic to add more hospitals, giving students more location options to complete their clinical training in order to progress from the Basic Sciences into clinicals without delays,” said Dr. Robert T. Grant, SGU’s senior associate dean, clinical studies. “Each of these institutions has a long history of guiding medical students through an enriching and holistic academic experience that will prepare them for residency.”
Core clerkships offered
Both Tucson Medical Center and Abrazo Health will offer students core clerkships, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ob/gyn, and psychiatry, as well as a family medicine rotation. The Arizona sites will begin accepting students at the end of September. Placement will be scheduled by SGU.
Georgia Regional Hospital at Atlanta and Southern Winds Hospital will accept students for their psychiatry rotations. Placement will be scheduled by SGU.
“SGU is committed to preparing our students with the foundation of knowledge and clinical skills to succeed in their medical careers,” said Dr. Marios Loukas, dean of the School of Medicine at St. George’s University. “Our clinical rotations allow our students to gain knowledge of different patient populations in a variety of settings and environments, offering valuable hands-on experience as they complete their final two years of medical studies.”
An audition for residency
A major benefit to SGU’s wide clinical network is that students have the opportunity to form professional relationships with residents, attending physicians, and hospital administration. Given that Abrazo Health has several residency programs associated with the institution, a clinical placement could also eventually lead to a residency interview for students.
“We are excited to offer students more opportunities to train in the US,” said Dr. Daniel D. Ricciardi, executive vice president of SGU’s clinical network development. “These clinical site additions allow SGU to expand upon a system that has proven successful not only in the education of our medical students, but also in creating a community for students to thrive. We are thrilled to add these new locations to our broad clinical network.”
