Education Blog Education databases Helpful Links By Collin Binkley The Columbus Dispatch Thursday April 3, 2014 5:20 AM

The first medical students at Ohio State University spent their days in one building, observing as experts showed them how to treat injuries, infections and other top troubles of the time. There were fewer than 40 students.

That was 100 years ago. Today, students come in classes of more than 200 and work with patients from their first year. They learn across a sprawling medical campus to treat chronic ailments that have grown in complexity.

Ohio State stood the test of time, said Dr. Daniel Clinchot, vice dean for medical education at the OSU College of Medicine.

The college is kicking off its centennial celebration today with a ceremony and discussion panel at 11 a.m. in Meiling Hall. Speakers will include the CEO of the Wexner Medical Center at OSU and the dean of the College of Medicine. The ceremony starts a series of events examining the schools past and future.

If you look at its history over the past century, it has been an innovator and leader in medical education, said Dr. Christopher Ellison, vice dean for clinical affairs at the college and chairman of surgery at the medical center.

Amid a shortage of physicians during World War II, the college offered a two-year medical degree to train more doctors. It responded to another shortage in the 1970s by letting students study independently, without lectures, Ellison said.

The university founded the college in 1914 after leaders of the Starling-Ohio Medical College handed their school over to the state. They wanted to transfer it to Ohio State amid sweeping changes in medical education.

There were no racial minorities and only one woman in the class of 1915. Today, about half of students are women and 20 percent are minorities. Last year, it was ranked the No. 14 public medical school by U.S. News and World Report.

As medicine evolved, the schools focus has shifted from the treatment of acute injuries, such as broken bones and gunshot wounds, to chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cancer. Now, as researchers and physicians explore the genetics behind diseases, the next step is to find cures, Clinchot said.

Original post:

Ohio State medical school looks to next 100 years