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Axios
11-07-2025
- Health
- Axios
Take a tour of Charlotte's first four-year medical school
Charlotte's first four-year medical school welcomed its inaugural class of 49 students — some of the best among 12,801 applicants — to its campus at The Pearl this week. Why it matters: Until now, Charlotte was the largest U.S. city without a four-year medical school. Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Charlotte campus is at the heart of The Pearl, a $1.5 billion development expected to turn the midtown neighborhood into a magnet for health care experts and bolster the region's access to quality care. "A school is more than just the students," said Roy Strowd, vice dean for undergraduate medical education. "It's the entire ecosystem that's around that school. It's the research, the innovation, the entrepreneurship." About one-third of Wake Forest medical students stay in North Carolina after graduation, according to the university. Between the lines: The Charlotte curriculum will follow a unique "problem-based learning framework," Strowd explained during a tour of the campus. Instead of beginning with traditional foundational science lectures, students will be assigned a clinical case on their first day. "They dive into the way the body works from that clinical case," Strowd said. "We are starting from day one, training our students to really think like a physician." By the numbers: Over a third of the inaugural Charlotte class is from North Carolina. The average age is 24. At its Winston-Salem campus, the Wake Forest University School of Medicine accepted almost 150 first-year students this year from the 12,801 pool. What's next: Enrollment at the Charlotte campus is expected to grow to 100 students per class over the next five years. Take a look around. The medical school anchors the newly built Howard R. Levine Center for Education at 905 Pearl Park Way, near Metropolitan. The 14-floor, 393,000-square-foot academic building is also home to the Carolinas College of Health Sciences, Wake Forest's School of Professional Studies and the School of Business. In the digital and virtual anatomy laboratory, students can study the human body with a 3D model on Sectra Table touchscreens. Students will rotate between this virtual lab and a plastinated donor laboratory with real human tissues. The campus's high-fidelity simulation spaces have realistic manikins that can display vital signs, breathe, blink, talk and have "all kinds of things go wrong with [them]," says Jennifer Noble, a simulation education manager. Medical, nursing and health science students will all use the space to practice interacting with patients and responding to situations, such as putting a breathing tube in the manikins. "A first-year medical student is not going to see the sickest of the sick because we have to keep our patients safe," Noble says. "But here we can challenge them to go above where they are." The school has manikins in all shapes and sizes, from premature babies to adults. During the first two years of medical school, students go through an immersive curriculum to learn how to interact with patients. The campus has rows of rooms where students can practice.
Business Journals
01-07-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Wake Forest's Charlotte campus redefines medical education with inaugural class
When Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte opens this July, Charlotte will welcome its first class of 49 medical students to the new campus in The Pearl innovation district. The program will debut a pioneering, case-driven curriculum that immerses students in real-world patient scenarios from day one—reshaping how future physicians are trained. This campus builds on the Winston-Salem-based program and makes problem-based learning the cornerstone of its educational approach. Students and faculty at both campuses share resources, research opportunities and rotations. The connection allows students and faculty to tap into the full resources of the school across both locations, says Roy E. Strowd, M.D., vice dean for undergraduate medical education at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who travels weekly between both sites. 'There's not that traditional lecture piece that many would be familiar with from their training,' Strowd said. 'The week starts with a case, and that becomes the springboard for self-guided instruction with faculty oversight.' The medical community's response has been unprecedented. When Strowd started recruiting for the first 30 teaching positions, he received nearly 170 applications. With enrollment expected to reach approximately 100 students per class over the next five years, the first Charlotte students will work with as many as 1,000 area physicians during their final two years of clinical rotations. expand Anatomy instruction relies on advanced tools rather than traditional cadaver labs, which allows students to learn anatomy longitudinally throughout their training rather than in isolated blocks. Students use virtual reality systems and plastinated specimens. (Plastination refers to the process of replacing water and fat in biological tissue with durable plastics.) The students also begin ultrasound instruction from day one. 'Wake Forest University School of Medicine is going to have the ability to really change the landscape of what we know about medical education,' Strowd said. The Charlotte campus' home at The Pearl sits just steps from Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, a Level I trauma and academic hospital. That proximity supports early clinical exposure through advanced technology and specialized services. The Pearl also hosts IRCAD North America, a world-renowned surgical training center providing expertise in robotics and minimally invasive surgery. Ensuring educational excellence across both locations remains a priority. The School of Medicine maintains consistent academic standards across both campuses. Graduates from Charlotte and Winston-Salem complete the same exams, residency match benchmarks and graduation requirements. Student performance in courses and phases is closely monitored and used to refine instruction. expand This expansion responds to a clear regional need. Charlotte was the nation's largest city without a four-year medical school. North Carolina also has one of the biggest rural populations in the country. The School of Medicine graduates enter primary care at high rates, and many stay in state for residencies. Once both campuses reach full enrollment, the Wake Forest University School of Medicine expects to graduate about 245 doctors per year, making it the largest medical school in the state by enrollment. The model also expands research opportunities for medical students in both cities, with students and faculty engaging in basic science work primarily in Winston-Salem and implementation-based projects in Charlotte. Character development remains central to the School's mission. Like the Winston-Salem campus, the Charlotte campus will focus on developing physicians who demonstrate intellectual humility, curiosity, compassion and courage through community integration and strategic partnerships. 'We're not reinventing what's happening in Charlotte's medical community, we're becoming integrated into what's already there and helping it grow,' Strowd said.
