Back to School

Good morning.
 
All schools are in full swing this semester, which is certainly evident by the increase of activity on campus, especially on the north side where the schools are located. I enjoy seeing all the budding health care professionals navigating their way through this early, pivotal part of their career. This is especially true for our first-year students who have just entered their journey.
 
And to the new students who may be receiving and reading this column for the first time, welcome to UMMC! We are excited to have you and proud that you chose to begin or further your health care career with us.
 
I liked the data shared in Monday’s article about the new medical school class’s white coat ceremony and wanted to see some numbers from our other schools. With the help of Ken Thompson, executive director of academic compliance, effectiveness and research, and the deans from each school, here’s a numbers snapshot of each of our first-year classes. What I think this showcases is how well we are doing in our efforts to recruit and train students that will, in turn, fan out across the state. Our primary charge is to supply Mississippi with a well-trained and ready-to-make-an-impact health care workforce, and data like those below prove we are taking that task seriously.
 
(Please note that our enrollment figures are not considered final until later in the semester, so some of these data may change.)
 
Total first-year enrollment for Fall 2024 currently sits at 914: School of Dentistry – 63, School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences – 80, School of Health Related Professions – 184, School of Medicine – 163, School of Nursing – 417, John D. Bower School of Population Health – 7.

Interesting metrics of the Fall 2024 incoming classes:

• 95% Mississippi residents! We really are training Mississippians to care for Mississippians. Love it.
  • This new class’s percentage is much higher than the overall student percentage of 87%.
• 77% women – with more women than men in every school’s incoming class.
  • This percentage is higher for the incoming class than it is for the total student body (67% women to 33% men).
• 27% under-represented minorities.
• Age ranges from 19 to 69, with an average age of 26.
• There is at least one student in our first-year group from 73 of 82 Mississippi counties.
  • Rankin tops this list with 142 first-year students, followed by Madison (133) and Hinds (122).
• Incoming students hail from many countries outside of the U.S.
  • SGSHS has 12 different countries represented in its new class.
• Students have matriculated to UMMC from a significant number of feeder schools from within and outside the state, with – as you may have guessed – University of Mississippi (tops in four UMMC schools) and Mississippi State (leading in two schools) being the most prevalent.
• All 15 in-state community colleges are represented throughout our schools.
• Before coming to UMMC, the incoming classes in our schools earned degrees from dozens of various programs with biology as the most prevalent in most of our schools. SHRP is the most diverse with 71 different degree and concentration programs among its first-year students.

I’m excited to see what our new students are able to accomplish during their time at UMMC – and later when they have established or elevated their careers.
 
Regardless of where you work at UMMC, or whether you have daily or no engagement with students, we should all support the work being done in our six health science schools. We have a big responsibility to lead the effort of supplying Mississippi with health care workers, and we take that seriously.
 
But it’s also fun and very rewarding. If you ever get the chance to play a part in the training/education of one of our students, I encourage you to take it. They will be appreciative, and you can take pride in knowing you played a part in their future career and helped us step a little closer to A Healthier Mississippi.