ASU to launch new medical school

The Arizona Board of Regents has asked Arizona State University (ASU) to expand medical education in Arizona by launching a new medical school, one charged with addressing the significant and growing health care needs of the state.

The new ASU School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering will integrate clinical medicine, biomedical science and engineering, joining universities such as Texas A&M and the University of Illinois, among others, that have opened a different kind of medical school.

Chair Elect Fred DuVal of The Arizona Board of Regents joined us to discuss what this new school will mean for Arizona.

“We are out to improve the health care of Arizonans,” DuVal said.

Arizona has fallen behind in the number of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals relative to the size of our population. It’s not uncommon to experience difficulty in making a doctor’s appointment or having to wait too long to eventually see a doctor, according to DuVal.

“We need more doctors. We need more nurses. We’ve asked each of our universities to take an assignment. ASU is going to start a new medical school,” DuVal said.

One of the main purposes of this school is to address medical shortages. COVID burned out so many nurses, according to DuVal.

“We’ve just eviscerated the ranks of nurses, so that’s why we’ve asked all three of our universities to grow their nursing ranks,” DuVal said.

While ASU is starting the school, all three state universities are involved in some way. University of Arizona will double the number of physicians, Arizona State is starting the new school that will differ from U of A’s school, and Northern Arizona University will focus on allied health nurses and will potentially have a school focused on rural Arizona and tribal nations.

The location for the new ASU medical school is yet to be determined, as well as potential medical partnerships.