UA News

The UA's long-running Mini-Medical School program introduces medicine to the public.

The public now has a chance to experience medical school without the homework, exams and tuition. The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University Mini-Medical School is a vital tool to educate the community about the medical college and the research taking place on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Launched in 1990 by Dr. John Cohen, an immunologist at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, the Mini-Medical School program simulates the curriculum of a medical student in an exciting and interactive venue for the general public.

Since the inception of the UCHSC program, more than 19 universities across the country have established similar programs with great success. The program curricula are mostly the same, including topics such as molecular biology, immunology, pharmacology, neuroscience, gross anatomy and so forth.

The program initiates and fosters an ongoing communication between medical researchers and the general public, and stimulates innovative and exciting dialogue between university researchers and the general public.

It also provides community members with a hands-on medical school experience. This is an opportunity to learn about medicine, current health issues and the medical curriculum in a way that is fun and understandable, such as why patients and physicians sometimes avoid telling the truth or which area hospitals carry the scorpion anti-venom.

This popular evening series is registering for the spring session, which begins Feb. 18 and continues each Wednesday evening through March 4. Leading faculty members from the UA College of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix and other institutions will present interactive lectures on subjects related to curriculum experienced by medical school students. 

All lectures are held from 6-8 p.m. at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street in the Virginia G. Piper Auditorium.

The spring schedule is as follows:

• Feb. 18: "Liar, Liar Pants on Fire:  The Need for Ethics in a Healthcare Setting" presented by Dr. David Beyda, Phoenix Children's Hospital
• Feb. 25: "Sex and Cardiovascular Disease: Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask!" presented by Taben Hale, College of Medicine – Phoenix
• March 4: "Scorpion Antivenom in Arizona" presented by Dr. Leslie Boyer, UA College of Medicine and Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center