Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV in growth mode
Bolstered by recent investments from the state and generous donors, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV is in full growth mode. Headquartered in the Las Vegas Medical District, from a state-of-theart medical campus, the medical school is creating new programs, training more students and hiring more physicians to teach students, residents and fellows while also caring for the community.
Since a primary mission of the school is to increase the number of physicians in Nevada, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV has increased its class size from 60 to 66. The school is also hiring dozens of additional faculty physicians as it prepares to expand to 90 students per class, adding more doctors into the pipeline. The medical school intentionally looks for students who are either from Nevada, or have strong ties to the state, making it more likely they will practice here after graduation.
The School of Medicine also provides graduate medical education to more than 300 resident physicians — freshly minted doctors working in local hospitals, not only learning the latest therapies and cuttingedge technologies, but also the finer points of what it means to be a caring, compassionate physician.
In addition to teaching, faculty physicians, approximately 150 of them, see patients at UNLV Health clinics, offering an array of specialties including pediatrics, neurology, general surgery, plastic surgery, endocrinology, gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, gastroenterology, rheumatology, pulmonology, cardiology and geriatrics.
The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV is also in the schools, offering care to Clark County School District students and their families — some of whom have never visited a doctor before. Imagine the joy on a child’s face, putting on a new pair of glasses and being able to read the teacher’s notes for the first time!
Ever mindful of caring for the underserved, the school collaborates with Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada to offer evening hours at a free clinic so patients don’t have to take off work to see a doctor. At the beginning of each school year, new students spend three weeks embedded in the most economically challenged neighborhoods learning about what prevents Southern Nevadans from accessing health care, finding healthy food options and keeping their children safe.
Improving the state of health care in Nevada is a strategic priority at UNLV. There is a renewed effort to create an academic health center, bringing together resources of the UNLV Schools of Nursing, Public Health, Dental Medicine, Integrative Health Sciences and other UNLV behavioral health programs. Together, with the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMC), the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV is working to transform health care for generations to come. Support our mission: unlv.edu/medicine/support unlv.edu/dental unlv.edu/integratedhealth unlv.edu/medicine unlv.edu/nursing unlv.edu/publichealth