Medical University of South Carolina

The College of Medicine began in 1823 with the incorporation of the Medical College of South Carolina, a private institution of the Medical Society of South Carolina. Seven Charleston physicians formed the initial faculty with 30 students enrolled in 1824. The first graduation was on April 4, 1825. With the exception of the American Civil War, the college has served continuously to the present, even when there was a total enrollment of two students. At the time of Robert Wilson's appointment as dean of the College of Medicine in 1908, Abraham Flexner was beginning his survey of the medical college. Flexner's survey resulted in the report titled "Medical Education in the United States and Canada".[11] It was highly critical of the medical college and its poor facilities, lack of full-time faculty, lack of equipment, and lack of money. Recognizing that the college did not meet national requirements, Wilson determined that the only way to save the college from closure was to transfer it to state ownership in order to have access to state appropriations. The state took over formal control of the college in 1913.

In 1969, twelve African Americans were fired from the hospital, resulting in a two-month-long strike and protest that gathered as many as 10,000 participants, including influential leaders such as Coretta Scott King.

The College of Medicine consists of many departments: Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Comparative Medicine, Dermatology, Family Medicine, Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Neurosciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Surgery, Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, and Urology.

The College of Medicine offers a four-year medical curriculum leading to a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). The college also offers dual-degree programs in conjunction with other colleges and universities. The Colleges of Medicine and Graduate Studies offer a combined M.D./Ph.D degree through the Medical Scientist Training Program as well as an M.D./master's degree in clinical research through the Southeastern Predoctoral Training in clinical research. Students can also receive a combined M.D./M.H.A. through the Colleges of Medicine and Health Professions. The college partners with the University of South Carolina and The Citadel to provide an M.D./master's in Public Health and M.D./master's of Business Administration, respectively.

The college accepts 155–160 students per year into the medical curriculum. The curriculum consists of two years of core basic science instruction followed by two years of clinical training. Students also participate in a longitudinal curriculum that includes instruction in doctoring, physical examination and diagnosis, and biomedical ethics.[12]

The Department of Pharmacy was created by an amendment to the charter in 1881, organized in 1882, and discontinued by 1884. Resuming in 1894, the Department of Pharmacy offered the Graduate in Pharmacy (Ph.G.) degree. The current program offers the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. In 2006, the College of Pharmacy merged with the University of South Carolina's College of Pharmacy in Columbia, SC to form the South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP). However, in 2016 the College of Pharmacy at MUSC ended its merger with SCCP. Members of the graduating class of 2020 were the first to receive degrees under the newly separated MUSC College of Pharmacy.

The MUSC College of Pharmacy offers a dual PharmD/MBA program, a consortium between The Citadel Graduate College and MUSC College of Pharmacy. This consortium was originally designed and implemented before the SCCP was formed.

The current dean of the college is Phillip Hall.

The two-year training course for nurses was started in 1884 at Roper Hospital. The training school was incorporated into the Medical College of South Carolina in 1919 and expanded to three years. Today, the College of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing, a Master of Science in nursing, and three doctoral degrees – a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), and a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice).

Graduate instruction began in 1949, with the first Master of Science degree conferred in 1951 and the first Doctor of Philosophy awarded in 1952. The School of Graduate Studies, formally organized in 1965, now offers a variety of programs including neuroscience, biostatistics, epidemiology, molecular and cellular biology, pathology and laboratory medicine, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, microbiology and immunology, and environmental sciences.

The School of Dental Medicine was authorized in 1953 at the request of the South Carolina Dental Association. Funding delayed the school until 1964. The first class received DMD degrees in 1971. [13]

MUSC recently completed construction of a new, clinical education facility: The James B. Edwards Dental Clinics Building.

Patient care

• Dental student clinics:
• Specialty care graduate clinics: Pediatrics, Periodontics, Orthodontics, Endodontics, and Oral Surgery

Academic departments

Materials Science

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics

Craniofacial Genetics

Orthodontics

Pediatric Dentistry

Restorative Dentistry

Endodontics

Fixed prosthodontics

Implant Prosthodontics

Operative Dentistry

Removable Prosthodontics

Stomatology

Oral and Community Health Sciences

Oral Medicine, Radiology and Emergency Services

Oral Pathology and Forensic Dentistry

Periodontics

Three hospital-based training programs (Medical Technology, Cytotechnology, and Radiologic Technology) became the nucleus of a Division of Technical Training, recognized as a separate branch of the Medical College in 1964. The School of Allied Health Sciences, now the College of Health Professions, was formally organized in 1966, and expanded to offer over 20 different training options in the paramedical field. The college now offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degree programs including:

Master of Science in Cardiovascular Perfusion (CVP), Master in Health Administration (MHA), Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI),[14] Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP),[15] Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (OT), Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (PA), Doctor of Health Administration (DHA), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Science (PhD)

The Medical College of South Carolina was one of the first medical schools in the United States to establish, in 1834, an infirmary specifically for teaching purposes. In the 1840s the college also entered into agreements for clinical training opportunities at the Poorhouse, the Marine Hospital, and the local "dispensary." In 1856, Roper Hospital was opened, and for 100 years Roper was the Medical College's primary teaching hospital.

The Medical College recognized the need for its own facilities to expand clinical teaching opportunities, as well as to serve as a major referral center in South Carolina for diagnosis and treatment of disease. The ten-story Medical University Hospital accepted its first patients in 1955. In 1985 the name of the hospital and its clinics was changed to MUSC Health Medical Center, reflecting its function in an academic health institution and its wide range of services to the public. This comprehensive facility now consists of three separate hospitals (the University Hospital, the Institute of Psychiatry, and the Children's Hospital). The Medical Center includes centers for specialized care (Heart Center, Transplantation Center, Hollings Cancer Center, Digestive Diseases Center). Numerous outpatient facilities include the Family Medicine Center, University Diagnostic Center, and affiliated faculty practice association ambulatory care centers. In the past ten years, $200 million in capital improvements for the Medical Center focused resources on improved quality of patient care and accessibility of services. In 1993–94 there were over 23,000 inpatient admissions and almost 300,000 outpatient visits.

In 1994, Peter B. Cotton formed the Digestive Disease Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. The center specializes in the management and treatment of digestive diseases. In 2012, it was the first hospital in South Carolina to perform the new LINX Reflux Management System treatment for patients with GERD.

MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care women's and children's hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the Medical University of South Carolina. The hospital features all private rooms that consist of 250 pediatric beds and 29 beds for women.[17] The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21[18][19] throughout the Carolinas. The hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care.[20] The hospital has a rooftop helipad[21] and is an ACS verified level I pediatric trauma center, the only one in South Carolina.[22] The hospital features a regional pediatric intensive-care unit and an American Academy of Pediatrics verified level IV neonatal intensive care unit.[23][24]

Along with the main hospital in Charleston, MUSC Children's operates the ambulatory R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion with 4 operating rooms and 2 procedure rooms.[25]

The MUSC board voted to acquire Kershaw Health's hospitals and Providence Hospitals in 2021.[26] The hospitals had their names changed,[27] and are now in MUSC Health.