Cooper University Hospital celebrated one of the most significant milestones in its 125-year history this summer with the opening of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU).
The first new medical school in New Jersey in more than 35 years and only the 135th medical school in the country, the six-story, $139 million project at the corner of Broadway and Benson Streets in Camden is expected to be an economic engine for the neighborhood, the City of Camden, and South Jersey, and elevate medical care and education throughout the region.
For South Jersey physicians, having a four-year medical school nearby will offer educational and research opportunities, and help to address an impending health care crisis.
“We will offer a range of continuing medical education opportunities for community doctors,” said Paul Katz, MD, CMSRU Founding Dean. “And our innovative, hands-on curriculum will allow us to seek training and research opportunities for our students from the greater South Jersey medical community.”
One of the most important impacts CMSRU will have affects not only the medical community, but residents of the entire state by addressing the physician shortage in New Jersey. The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals recently reported that there is already a 12 percent gap between physician supply and demand. By 2020, New Jersey is expected to be short an additional 3,000 physicians needed to care for its population. “Since the place where physicians train plays a role in where they choose to live and work, we expect to add a significant number to the physician workforce within the next decade,” adds Dr. Katz. “This will help physicians state- wide provide better and more efficient care to their patients.”
The Grand Opening
CMSRU marked its July opening with a special event attended by N. J. Governor Chris Christie and other dignitaries.
“Today’s grand opening of Cooper Medical School represents a significant step forward in higher education for
the state of New Jersey,” Christie said. “The establishment of a four-year medical school in Camden is long overdue, and I congratulate The Cooper Health System and Rowan University on this very successful collaboration.”
The event included tours of CMSRU’s Medical Education Building on Camden’s Cooper Health Sciences Campus. The six-story, 200,000 -square-foot building eventually will accommodate 40 0 aspiring physicians.
the state of New Jersey,” Christie said. “The establishment of a four-year medical school in Camden is long overdue, and I congratulate The Cooper Health System and Rowan University on this very successful collaboration.”
The event included tours of CMSRU’s Medical Education Building on Camden’s Cooper Health Sciences Campus. The six-story, 200,000 -square-foot building eventually will accommodate 400 aspiring physicians.
The Class of 2016
On August 13, 2012, 50 young men and women took their seats in CMSRU’s brand new auditorium. Dr. Katz warmly welcomed these future physicians – CMSRU Class of 2016 – who were attending their first day of medical school orientation.
Altogether, 74 percent of CMSRU’s charter class hails from New Jersey. They were chosen from a pool of 2,900 applicants and a group of more than 300 interviewees. The class is 58 percent female and 42 percent male and ranges in age from 22-36. The average age is 25.
A little over a month after arriving, the students recited the Hippocratic Oath and were cloaked in starched white coats in front of family and CMSRU faculty. This symbolic event, the “White Coat Ceremony,” was an official welcome into the medical profession for the charter class.
CMSRU students will be educated by more than 400 clinical faculty from Cooper University Hospital and its own team of basic science faculty, many of whom are renowned educators and researchers.
The school’s high tech/high touch, mission-driven curriculum was designed to prepare physicians for the changing culture of health care in the United States, including an emphasis on patient-centered care, teamwork, critical thinking, preventative medicine and community service.
For more information, please visit rowan.edu/coopermed.