Mosaic and UMKC partner to graduate St. Joseph's first graduating class of doctors

It all started 53 years ago, when the University of Missouri - Kansas City Medical School was established by some visionaries who believed medical education could be taught in a better way. “A better way consisted of a couple of things,” said Alexander Norbash, school of medicine dean and professor. “One of the things that it consisted of was they felt that we practiced medicine as teams.

” Whether the goal is to be a physician, nurse, or social worker, each student should learn how to become a doctor as part of a team compared to just studying out of a textbook and seeing patients on a "one-on-one" basis Within each team is a docent, which is an experienced physician and role model who teaches medicine as well as compassion. Norbash said it’s all about interactions and treating the patient with dignity. “You have a big brother, little brother, big sister, little sister.



So the learning model was different. It wasn’t just about the books,” he said. The other thing that makes UMKC’s program stand out from others is the level of experience each student gets from day one.

“Our structure is from day one, you learn medicine,” Norbash said. No matter the campus or the student’s graduation year, students are seeing patients on their very first day. “You might see a patient with anemia, a patient with hypertension, and a patient who's got terrible pancreatitis or diabetes.

So you have a prolonged opportunity to learn about medicine,” said Norbash..