New U of A medical school building promotes collaboration

The University of Arizona College of Medicine in downtown Phoenix debuts a new building today. U of A President Ann Weaver Hart is set to tour the $100 million facility that aims to change how medicine is taught. 

The new building is all about teaching different medical specialties together. Med students will share the building with U of A pharmacy students, and with physician assistant and physical therapy programs from Northern Arizona University .

Stuart Flynn, dean of U of A’s Phoenix  College of Medicine, says they’ll also work closely with ASU and U of A nursing programs in the Valley. Flynn thinks improving medical education by making it more collaborative can help Arizona retain its talent.

“More importantly, it’s not about the building, it’s about the programs that we’re putting together," Flynn said. "The next big step from the physician workforce will be to grow and improve graduate medical education, so we can train our MDs in the state, and then keep them in the state to do their residencies, rather than being an exporter of very well-trained individuals.”

This year’s class at the U of A’s Phoenix medical school has 80 students, more than 50 of them from Arizona .