Geisel School of Medicine

The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is the graduate medical school of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fourth oldest medical school in the United States, it was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith. It is one of the seven Ivy League medical schools.

Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Type	Private medical school
Established	November 22, 1797
Parent institution	Dartmouth College
Dean	Duane A. Compton
Academic staff	2,342^[1]
Students	734^[2]
Location	Hanover , New Hampshire , United States
Campus	Rural
Website	geiselmed.dartmouth.edu

Several milestones in medical care and research have taken place at Dartmouth, including the introduction of stethoscopes to U.S. medical education (1838), the first clinical x-ray (1896), and the first multispecialty intensive care unit (ICU) in the United States (1955).^[3][4]

The Geisel School of Medicine grants the Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. The school has a student body of approximately 700 students and more than 2,300 faculty and researchers. Geisel organizes research through over a dozen research centers and institutes, attracting more than $140 million in grants annually, and is ranked as a top medical school by U.S. News & World Report for both primary care and biomedical research. Geisel has numerous clinical partners, including Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, White River Junction Veterans Administration Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, and Manchester Veterans Administration Medical Center.

History

 

Nathan Smith, founder of Dartmouth Medical School

Foundation and early years

Dartmouth's medical school was founded in 1797 as the fourth medical school in the United States, following the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1765), the medical school of King's College (now Columbia University) (1767), and Harvard Medical School (1782).^[5] The founder was Nathan Smith, a Harvard University and University of Edinburgh Medical School educated physician from Cornish, New Hampshire. Noting the dearth of medical professionals in the rural Connecticut River Upper Valley area, Smith petitioned the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College in August 1796 to fund the establishment of a medical school to train more physicians for the region. Though Dartmouth College as a whole was financially strapped, the Board approved the request, and Smith began lecturing on November 22, 1797.^[6]

For much of its early life, the school consisted only of Nathan Smith and a small class of students, operating in borrowed space at Dartmouth College. Students of Smith were educated as apprentices, and received a Bachelor of Medicine degree upon graduation. Like Dartmouth College as a whole, the medical school had continual funding shortages. As time passed, however, the popularity of both the medical instruction and the basic sciences taught at the school drew undergraduates and training physicians alike. Soliciting funds from the state of New Hampshire, Smith was able to obtain medical equipment and, by 1811, a dedicated physical plant for the school.^[6]

Smith acted as the sole administrator and instructor of the medical school until 1810 when a second faculty member was hired. Smith also revamped the curriculum, allowing the school to begin offering the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1812. Smith ultimately left Dartmouth in 1816, founding three additional schools of medicine at Yale University, Bowdoin College, and the University of Vermont.^[6]

Expansion

 

In 1811, Dartmouth constructed the first building in the United States devoted to medical education. The structure served as the school's primary facility for more than 150 years^[7]

Smith's departure provided for a period of expansion, both among the faculty and the student body. Former students of Nathan Smith's replaced him on the faculty, drawing medical professionals in the northeast such as Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. to join them. The first hospital at the school was founded by DMS alumnus Dixi Crosby in 1838, who used it to integrate academic instruction with hands-on patient care. In 1870, Carlton Pennington Frost, DMS '57, replaced Crosby as Dean of the school. Under Frost, the curriculum sustained another revamping, this time into a four-year program that included clinical and academic training.^[6] Frost also presided over the establishment of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in 1893, built to replace Crosby's defunct hospital.^[8] In 1908, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching conducted a survey of medical education institutions in the United States. At the time, the discipline emphasized "bedside teaching" and providing students experience with a broad variety of illnesses and patients. The school's rural location was deemed too remote for proper clinical training, and the school was advised to stop offering the Doctor of Medicine degree and only provide pre-clinical instruction. The class of 1914 was the last (until 1974) to receive the Doctor of Medicine degree; subsequent classes of students attended DMS for two years before transferring to other medical schools. The drop of clinical instruction worsened the school's problems by driving away talented faculty members.^[6]

After World War II, the tide of the medical discipline had shifted towards research. Although the school was well regarded for preparing students for clinical education at other institutions, its faculty was criticized for its apparent disinterest in research. The school was also criticized for using Dartmouth College's undergraduate program as a feeder school.^[5] Based on these criticisms, DMS was placed on "confidential probation" in 1956 by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Council on Medical Education.^[6]

"Refounding"

 

Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital c. 1887

At the time of the probation, Dartmouth College had already anticipated the medical school's plight, amassing capital to fund a revitalization of the school. In 1956, the trustees of the college formally agreed to a "refounding" of the school's academic offerings, physical facilities, and faculty. S. Marsh Tenney, DMS class of 1944, was appointed to carry out this task.^[6] Tenney more than doubled the size of the faculty and the student body, added several new departments, and oversaw the construction of five new campus buildings by 1964.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

In the 1960s, due to a national shortage of physicians and government incentives for schools that increased their class sizes, Dartmouth Medical School graduates began to experience difficulty in trying to transfer to other medical schools to complete their final two years of medical school as other medical schools had increased their class size and could not accommodate transfer students.^[5] In the meantime, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital had grown to be a 400-bed medical center, and Dartmouth Medical School had established a partnership with a 224-bed Veterans Administration Hospital in White River Junction, Vermont. The Doctor of Medicine program, now possible with the expanded local medical centers, was reinstated by a vote of the trustees in 1968. The admission of M.D. candidates resumed in 1970.^[6] Initially, the medical school curriculum was three years in length, unlike most medical schools, but it later was increased to the usual four years in 1979.^[14]

A cooperative program with Brown Medical School began in 1981 where students received training at both medical schools.^[15] Fifteen to twenty students were selected for the program, which combined the first two years of basic science coursework at Dartmouth with the final two years of clinical coursework at Brown. The program balanced Dartmouth's greater basic science facilities than Brown, but fewer clinical facilities than available at the urban setting of Brown, which is located in Providence, Rhode Island. Graduates of the program received M.D. degrees from Brown. The program was discontinued in 2010.^[16]

New Medical Center

 

New Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

In 1991, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center was established on a 225-acre (0.91 km²) campus in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The three-year project, completed at the cost of $228 million, served as a replacement for the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, which was partially demolished in the early 1990s.^[17][18] A new curriculum was introduced in 1996 entitled "New Directions." The curriculum, still in place today, seeks to promote small classes, reduce the amount of lectures, and offer students extensive interactive experience with patients.^[19] 2009 saw the successful completion of a $250 million capital campaign.^[20]

On April 4, 2012, the Dartmouth Medical School was renamed the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine in honor of their many years of generosity to the college.^[21]

Remote exams academic dishonesty charges

In March 2021, 17 students were accused of cheating on remote exams held during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following an audit by university technical teams, the students were alleged to have accessed content related to exam questions using the university's learning management system, Canvas. Students, faculty, and independent technical experts called the university's claims into question, citing automated logging of activity by Canvas and inconsistencies in the criteria used to identify cheating, including access to pages unrelated to exam questions. Seven of the cases were quickly dropped following these complaints, but the university affirmed its position in the other cases and emphasized their commitment to academic honesty. In response, a group of students protested outside the office of Geisel Dean Duane Compton while several faculty members signed a letter condemning the audits for creating a culture of mistrust.^[22] Following a software review by The New York Times, the medical school dropped the cheating charges against the remaining ten students. In June, Compton released a statement that the school had apologized to the students and would review its honor code review process to ensure fairness in future cases, but further details were not revealed to protect the privacy of the students involved.^[23]

Facilities

See also: List of Dartmouth College buildings § Geisel School of Medicine

The Geisel School of Medicine has facilities on the campus of Dartmouth College, which is situated in the Upper Valley town of Hanover, New Hampshire, as well at the hospital campus of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.^[24]

The medical school facilities at Dartmouth College sit in a complex on the north end of Dartmouth's campus and includes academic, administrative, research, and presentation facilities.^[25] Geisel School of Medicine is served by two libraries, the Dana Biomedical Library and the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library, which together offer over 240,000 volumes.^[26] Off-campus housing is available through Dartmouth College.^[27] In addition, the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center was completed in August 2011 at a cost of $92 million.^[28]

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in nearby Lebanon, New Hampshire, is the primary affiliated teaching hospital of the Geisel School of Medicine.^[29] The 396-bed inpatient facility acts as the medical school's teaching hospital and main teaching site.^[30][31] Other constituent elements include the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic (a network of physicians in Vermont and New Hampshire) and a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont.^[32] In total, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center serves an area with a population of 1.6 million.^[31]

In addition to on-campus instruction in Hanover and Lebanon, third- and fourth-year students may choose from 75 regional sites for their clerkships.^[1] Most clerkship facilities are located in central New England, although students are also able to clerk at sites in Alaska, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Florida.^[33]

• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
• Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont
• California Pacific Medical Center
• Children’s Hospital of Orange County
• Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
• Mayo Clinic Florida
• Hartford Hospital
• Concord Hospital
• Alice Peck Day Hospital
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester
• Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center
• Cheshire Medical Center
• Fort Defiance Indian Hospital, Arizona
• Monadnock Community Hospital

Academics

Geisel School of Medicine Departments^[1]

Academic Departments Anesthesiology Biochemistry and Cell Biology Biomedical Data Science Community and Family Medicine Epidemiology Health Policy & Clinical Practice (The Dartmouth Institute) Medical Education Medicine Microbiology and Immunology Molecular and Systems Biology Neurology Obstetrics and Gynecology Orthopaedics Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Pediatrics Psychiatry Radiology Surgery

Degree programs

The Geisel School of Medicine offers the four-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in certain fields.^[1][34][35]

There are six PhD programs based in the Geisel School of Medicine: pharmacology and toxicology, molecular and cell biology, immunology, molecular pathogenesis, systems biology, and experimental and molecular medicine. Research and teaching positions at the Geisel School of Medicine and its centers and institutes are available to PhD candidates.^[35]

In addition to the MD degree, Geisel medical students participate in the following joint-degree programs at Dartmouth:

• MD/PhD program with the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth^[36]
• MD/MBA program with the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth^[37][38]
• MD/MPH and MD/MS programs with The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice^[39]
• MD/MS program with the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

Curriculum

The MD curriculum spans four years, combining required courses with electives. First-year students learn human anatomy and basic biomedical science in classes offered by the basic science departments, while beginning a two-year course of study in clinical studies. Second-year students study pathophysiology and take courses from almost every clinical and basic science department in the school. In their third year, students are required to participate in six eight-week medical clerkships with area medical institutions, covering both ambulatory clinics and hospitals.^[33] The final year is spent on additional clerkships, the designation of an area of focus, and preparation for a post-graduation residency.^[34] In addition to imparting medical and clinical knowledge, the MD program is designed to teach interpersonal and communications skills, professionalism, and other practical skills for a medical career.^[33]

Admissions

 

3 Rope Ferry Road, location of Geisel School of Medicine's Office of Admissions.

Admission to the MD program at the Geisel School of Medicine is highly selective. Geisel receives approximately 7,000 applications each year for about 92 places in the entering class. In 2021, the acceptance rate was 3.1%.^[40]

In 2021, the Geisel School of Medicine ranked 45th in research and 24th in primary care by U.S. News & World Report.^[40]

In November 2013, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) granted the Geisel School of Medicine a full eight-year term of accreditation, the longest available.

Organization

Similar to Dartmouth College, the Geisel School of Medicine operates on a quarter system.^[41] The school is directly managed by a Dean who is advised by a 22-member Board of Overseers.^[42] Part of the larger institution, the Geisel School of Medicine is ultimately administered by Dartmouth's president and Board of Trustees. As of the 2008–2009 academic year^[update], the school operates on a budget of $237 million.^[1]

Research and publications

Besides research conducted within the infrastructure of academic departments, research at Geisel is also organized around over a dozen research centers and institutes. The centers cover various medical subjects such as neuroscience, oncology (Dartmouth Cancer Center), psychiatry, and pediatrics.^[43] Funded research at Geisel School of Medicine amounted to $140 million during the 2012–2013 academic year.

The medical school publishes a magazine, Dartmouth Medicine.^[44] In addition, the school also publishes an innovative medical literary journal, Lifelines (literary journal).^[45]

People

Student profile and student life

The Geisel School of Medicine's enrollment as of October 2013^[update] totaled 700 students: 360 M.D. candidates and 340 graduate students. In addition to the student body, over 350 resident physicians and research fellows were on campus as of July 2007^[update].^[1] The student population is split approximately evenly between men and women,^[46] while about 25 percent of the student body is made up of international or minority students.^[47] From an average class size of 75, over 60 undergraduate institutions and most of the U.S. states are represented.^[47] According to The Princeton Review, the small class size at Geisel helps to establish "a strong sense of community and collaborative spirit."^[47] The school offers dozens of community service, recreational, professional, and other student groups.^[48]

Faculty

Main article: List of Dartmouth College faculty § Dartmouth Medical School

 

C. Everett Koop, who served as a Senior Scholar of the C. Everett Koop Institute at the Geisel School^[49]

As of November 2007, the Geisel School of Medicine employs a staff of 2,315 faculty and researchers: 766 full-time faculty, 1,301 part-time faculty and non-faculty instructors, and 248 research positions.^[1] The ratio of full-time, on-site faculty to students is given by the school as 2:1.^[50] Notable current faculty include Stuart Gitlow,^[51] palliative care physician Ira Byock,^[49] former astronaut and Democratic politician Jay C. Buckey,^[52] psychoanalyst Peter A. Olsson,^[53] and Jay Dunlap, professor and chair of genetics at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Notable former faculty include biochemist Mahlon Hoagland,^[54] pathologist and geneticist Kurt Benirschke,^[55] and former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Dartmouth College alumni

There are 4,891 living graduates of the Geisel School of Medicine as of June 2013.^[1][56]

• Samuel Ford McGill, first black student to graduate from a U.S. medical school^[57]
• Charles Knowlton, freethinker^[58]
• Robert O. Blood, physician^[59]
• John D. Bullock, ophthalmologist and epidemiologist^[60]
• John Francis Eisold, attending physician at the United States Capitol^[61]
• Robert E. Michler, heart surgeon and Surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Richard S. Molony, U.S. Representative
• Robert Burns, U.S. Representative^[62]
• Noah Martin, Governor of New Hampshire^[63]
• Ian Smith, television personality^[64]
• Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• William E. Flanary (Dr. Glaucomflecken), ophthalmologist and comedian

References

•  New Hampshire portal

1. . Dartmouth Medical School. Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
2. . Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Archived from the original on 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
3. "Dartmouth Medical Milestones". Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
4. "Remembering Dr. William Mosenthal: A simple idea from a special surgeon". Dartmouth Medicine. 28 (3). Spring 2004.
5. White, Paul Dudley (June 1973). "Review of 'Dartmouth Medical School: The First 176 Years'". The New England Quarterly. 46: 306–308. doi:10.2307/364128. JSTOR 364128.
6. Blough, Barbara; Dana Cook Grossman. . Dartmouth Medical School. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
7. Blough, Barbara T.; Grossman, Dana Cook (1999). "Two Hundred Years of Medicine at Dartmouth". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 882 (1): xiii–xix. Bibcode:1999NYASA.882D..13B. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08526.x. ISSN 1749-6632. S2CID 84139859.
8. "Farewell to the MHMH". Darmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
9. "Butler 1&2". Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
10. . Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2004-06-22. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
11. . Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2005-02-08. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
12. "Remsen". Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
13. "Strasenburgh Dormitory". Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
14. Medicine: History 2008-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, Dartmouth College Library. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
15. Medical Education at Brown: An Overview 2007-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, Brown Alpert Medical School. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
16. Kelleher, K. (April 25, 2007), Brown-Dartmouth medical program to end in 2010 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
17. . Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
18. "Farewell to the MHMH". Dartmo.: The Buildings of Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
19. "Cover Note: Dartmouth Medical School" (PDF). Academic Medicine. Association of American Medical Colleges. January 2005. p. 4. Retrieved 2007-12-21.^{[permanent dead link]}
20. "Transforming Medicine".
21. "Dartmouth Names Medical School in Honor of Audrey and Theodor Geisel". Geisel School of Medicine. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
22. Singer, Natasha; Krolik, Aaron (9 May 2021). "Online Cheating Charges Upend Dartmouth Medical School". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
23. "Dartmouth Medical School Drops Online Cheating Cases Against Students". The New York Times. June 10, 2021.
24. "Administration". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
25. "Campus Map". Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
26. "History of the Biomedical Libraries". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
27. . Dartmouth Medical School. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
28. . Office of Design, Planning, and Construction. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
29. "About Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center". Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
30. . Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
31. . Dartmouth Medical School: M.D. Admissions. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
32. . Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
33. . Dartmouth Medical School: M.D. Admissions. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
34. "The M.D. Program Courses: Curriculum Overview". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
35. "Graduate Education in Basic Science". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
36. "Welcome to the M.D.-PhD Program". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
37. "MD/MBA Program at Dartmouth Medical School".
38. "The MD/MBA Program at Dartmouth". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
39. . Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Archived from the original on 2005-05-15. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
40. "Dartmouth College (Geisel)". America's Best Graduate Schools 2021. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
41. "Dartmouth Medical School Calendar 2007–2008" (PDF). Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-21.^{[dead link]}
42. . Geisel School of Medicine. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
43. "Research Centers, Institutes and Programs". Geisel School of Medicine. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
44. Vital Signs: Touched by Medicine. [1]
45. Lifelines : a Dartmouth Medical School literary journal. Author: Dartmouth Medical School. Publisher: Hanover, NH : Trustees of Dartmouth College [2]
46. . Dartmouth Medical School: M.D. Admissions. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
47. "Dartmouth College: Student Life". The Princeton Review. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
48. "Student Organizations and Community Service". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
49. "Ira Byock". Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
50. . Dartmouth Medical School: M.D. Admissions. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
51. . American Medical Association. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
52. . Guide to Dartmouth Experts. Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
53. "About Dr. Olsson". Dr. Peter Olsson, M.D. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
54. "In memoriam: Former DMS dean Carleton Chapman". Dartmouth Medicine Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
55. . Commemorative Placentation. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
56. "Alumni & Friends". Dartmouth Medical School. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
57. "Dartmouth Medical Milestones". Dartmouth College.
58. "Charles Knowlton". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
59. Bastedo, Russell (1998). "Publications – A Guide to Likenesses of New Hampshire Officials and Governors on Public Display at the Legislative Office Building and the State House Concord, New Hampshire, to 1998". New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
60. "Center for Global Health Systems, Management and Policy". Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
61. . American College of Physicians. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
62. "Members of Congress". Dartmouth Club of Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
63. "Noah Martin". New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
64. "Biography: Ian Smith". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2007-12-21.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dartmouth Medical School.

• Dartmouth Medical School

43°42′30″N 72°17′14″W / 43.708288°N 72.287142°W / 43.708288; -72.287142