For immediate release: May 29, 2009

Contact: Anne McMillin, APR
Health Science Communications
Office 775-682-9254
Mobile 702-292-4247
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu

Mesquite area housing need for medical student

School of Medicine seeking those willing to open up their homes

LAS VEGAS, Nev.— The University of Nevada School of Medicine is asking members of the Mesquite area to open their homes and hearts to medical students studying in their community later this year.

          Starting in November, some members of the Class of 2010 will complete their four-week small community rotation requirement in Mesquite. The required program for graduation is run by the school’s Department of Interdisciplinary Medical Education (DIME) which relies on the goodwill and generosity of community members to help house students during their four-week rotation.

          “We have placed students in Mesquite area in the past and hope we can rely on residents’ willingness to do so again this year,” said Jamie Anderson, DIME director. “Our students have truly loved learning about the Mesquite community and working with the physicians there. It’s a wonderful teaching site.”

          The University of Nevada School of Medicine is committed to serving the health care needs of small communities which is why all medical students must complete a rotation in a community hospital prior to graduation. Students are placed in rural hospitals throughout the state of Nevada as well as in outlying communities in eastern California and southern Idaho.

          Those interested in providing housing to medical students completing their four-week rotation in Mesquite may contact Jamie Anderson, DIME director, at 775-682-7728. Residents providing students housing must offer them their own bedroom and bathroom as well as kitchen access. Rotations begin in November and conclude in May.

As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been a leader in healthcare, medical education and research in Nevada since 1969. The School of Medicine includes 16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and five nationally recognized departments in basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. The more than 185 doctors of University Health System, the school’s clinical practice, offer care in more than 40 medical specialties and subspecialties with eight physician offices in the Reno/Sparks area and seven in Las Vegas. The school is committed to a best practices approach to medicine and is dedicated to exceptional healthcare for Nevada now and in the future. For more information visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.