East Carolina University - Buccaneer Tecoan Yearbook (Greenville, NC)

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-4? , 3- ... , Q 'Yknl :y',r ' -A 3' --fr, ' M l-.5-51. . f-f B V 4 E, ., ,,.I Z 1 l l l NRA... .... - A fill . i P Q? . .avi talk x Picture A: Lab work is vital to the diagnosis of many diseases. B: ECU's new Family Practice Cen- ter, C: The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit operated by the ECU Department of Pediatrics is a regional referral center for infants requiring special care. D: Dr. John B. Tingelstad, pediatrics chairman, dis- cusses a patient's chart with the department's resia dents. E: After receiving their first black bags, sec- ond-year medical students headed for class at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. F: Medical School stu- dents at work diligently in the classroom. Med School X17 X

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.s 'E In the mid 1960's several universities were trying to acquire authorization for a School of Medicine. In 1965, the General Assembly authorized planning funds for this school at East Carolina College. In 1967, East Carolina University received continued authorization and additional funds to plan the medical program. Dur- ing 1972-1975, ECU was awarded a one year medical school. This program closed during 1975-1977, while gearing up for its four year program. In the spring of 1977 ECU's School of Medicine received accreditation from the Liason Committee on Medical Education. Four months later, 28 medical students were admitted. In 1978, they were joined by 36 more, and this fast growing grad- uate school plans to accept 40 more students in the fall of 1979. The medical school's offices and the basic science departments - Pathology, Physiology, Pharmacology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Microbiology - are located on the main university campus. The clinical sciences, including Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Medicine, are housed at Pitt County Me- morial Hospital, as is ECU's new Eastern Carolina Family Practice Center. This fa- cility is one of the largest in the United States used exclusively for family prac- ' .il ,I xi lp pl :Mix ' 16 f Med School Idea Becomes Realit tice. Other Medical School facilities at Pitt Hospital include the regional Neona- tal Intensive Care Unit which offers care for critically ill newborns and a high risk obstetrical referral service which pro- vides special care for women with compli- cated pregnancies in 29 counties in East- ern North Carolina. The Eastern North Carolina Helicopter Program was also initiated this year, and provides a link between fourteen hospi- tals and seven clinics. This effort to im- prove the quality of emergency health care was developed by the School of Medicine in cooperation with Dare Coun- ty and the Department of Human Re- sources office of Emergency Medical Ser- vices. The School of Medicine and Pitt Hospi- tal experienced another first in ,July when 24 residents joined the hospital's house staff to receive additional training in their clinical specialities. Physicians participating in the medical school's post- graduate training program now total 31. Seven residents trained at the Family Practice Center last year. The ECU medical school also concen- trates its efforts in research. At the Continued on page 18 fi In if I if Q. ' I nl Wlvlmile 5-nu f I alll 'gl' I

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Program Starts From cratch Continued from page 16 present time they are focusing on magne- sium's role as protection against heart disease, childhood earaches, the effect of alcohol of fetal development, and region- al family disease patterns. At the present time, the medical school is in the process of receiving Ph.D. au- thorization in the fields of anatomy, bio- chemistry, microbiology, physiology and pharmacology. The development process for new Ph.D. programs was instituted in 1975 and will reach fruition with its first candidates for degrees in August of 1979. These programs will be the first such studies to be initiated in the state of North Carolina since 1971 and the first Ph.D. program for ECU. By the summer of 1981, the East Caro- lina University School of Medicine will occupy a nine story Medical Science Building, adjacent to Pitt County Memori- al Hospital, which will house all of the Medical School's departments, clinics, labs and classrooms. At that time, the enrollment in the school's medical educa- tion program will have risen to 200 future physicians. 18 f Med School