Although the primary purpose is to provide excellent patient care, the medical center also prepares tomorrow’s health care providers. The University of Tennessee Medical Center is the home of the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine and the UT College of Pharmacy.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine has ten academic departments with more than 400 full-time and volunteer teaching physicians, dentists, and researchers. Approximately 224 residents and fellows currently train in 15 ACGME-accredited specialty and subspecialty programs, and 16 residents train in CODA-accredited general dentistry and AAOMS accredited oral and maxillofacial surgery programs.
Another component of the Graduate School of Medicine is the Preston Medical Library. The library provides reference, research and instruction for UT Graduate School of Medicine faculty, residents, students, physicians, as well as outreach to the community. Through the Consumer & Patient Health Information Service, library staff assists patients, families, and community members in finding information on health-related topics and provides the information free of charge.
In addition to the pharmacy students and the medical and dental residents and fellows, there are nursing students from area colleges, School of Radiography students and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) students.
In 2006, the College of Pharmacy expanded its programs in Knoxville, Tennessee with the construction of a new 15,000 square foot facility on the medical center campus. UT’s College of Pharmacy was ranked 16th among the nation’s doctor of pharmacy programs in U.S. News & World Report magazine’s 2007 edition of American region’s Best Graduate Schools.