KU School of Medicine-Wichita

I share most of the school's history, having graduated with the second class of medical students. It was a great opportunity for me to be able to combine multiple hands-on experiences with a small-college feel. We were a close-knit group of students and built relationships with our faculty members. They bent over backward to make it a good experience for us, which doesn't mean they coddled us because we had professors who were pretty strict, but they respected us and held us to high standards. Though we can't cover everything since 1971, we hope this special edition will give you an insider's view about several topics, including our first dean, Cramer Reed, M.D., and his struggles and successes initiating a medical school in Wichita that is still educating students today. We'll revisit the house, dorm and hospital that were transformed to accommodate — sometimes barely — the first faculty, sta and finally the students and residents. We'll meet one each of the first residency directors, department chairs and students — all with the goal of providing Kansas with more physicians — especially rural Kansas. We'll look at how that charge of educating more doctors for rural Kansas continues to this day, and the many ways we try to meet that mission. We'll take a walk through the many medical firsts that occurred during our history, like the world's first injection of biosynthetic human insulin and today's COVID-19 vaccine trials. KU School of Medicine-Wichita has matured into a well-developed campus with a proven, successful reputation as a regional community-based campus that relies on and appreciates its network of volunteer and full-time faculty and the quality education they provide. During the last 50 years, we have educated more than 2,300 medical students. The Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education has had 2,270 residents graduate from our programs — and we're far from done. Enjoy our story. To learn where we've come is fascinating. To realize what we've accomplished is impressive. And, to dare to dream about what's possible for our future is astounding. This issue of Embark will briefly cover our 50-year history and look forward to what lies ahead for KU School of Medicine-Wichita. Dean Garold Minns, M.D. 50 years and counting 1

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