TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State University will soon be establishing its own medical school as part of a statewide initiative to improve Arizona's healthcare workforce.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine had long been the primary medical school among the state's public universities. But the Arizona Board of Regents announced Thursday that the Tempe-based university will soon offer another medical school for aspiring physicians.
ASU said the school will strive to be different from other medical schools by offering clinical partnerships that support both research and academic programs.
“An interdisciplinary approach will bring together health sciences from across the university to prepare students to address complex health care problems,” University Provost Nancy Gonzales said in a statement.
The board said it will be allocating $30 million to a number of initiatives that aim to fix staffing shortages at hospitals in Arizona's rural areas.
All three of Arizona's public universities will be pooling together resources to improve the state's health workforce.
As part of the initiative, UArizona will attempt to increase its number of medical school graduates by partnering with Banner Health.
“There is not a moment to waste as Arizona must train and deploy the health care professionals our fast-growing population requires,” Board Chair Fred DuVal said in a statement.
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