VA, medical schools celebrate 70 years of partnerships

For nearly 70 years, VA has forged valuable and lasting partnerships with the nation’s medical schools to train clinicians to provide the best care possible for the nation’s Veterans. Policy Memorandum #2 was issued on Jan. 30, 1946, creating the association between VA and medical schools.

Where are we today?

In 2013, 40,420 medical residents, 21,540 medical students, 253 advanced fellows, and 1,397 dental residents and dental students received some, or all, of their clinical training in VA. Of its 152 VA medical centers and six independent outpatient clinics, 124 hospitals and three clinics have affiliation agreements with 130 of 141 allopathic Accredited Medical Schools and 22 of 29 osteopathic medical schools for physician education.  Many trainees have their health profession degrees and contribute substantially to VA’s ability to deliver cost-effective and high-quality patient care during their advanced clinical training at VA.

Steve Shannon, MPH, DO, is president and chief executive office of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM).  He believes the VA relationship with AACOM institutions has greatly improved the care of Veterans in rural areas.

Interested in more on VA’s academic affiliations?  Watch this video highlighting the  achievements of those partnerships, as well as comments from the top doctors at the Association of American Medical Colleges. You can also hear from longtime VA health care provider and leader Dr. Robert Jesse, chief of VA’s Office of Academic Affiliations, on the value of these partnerships.