About

The Science of Medicine. The Art of Healing.

Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine is located in Dayton, Ohio, and serves the Miami Valley region of Southwest Ohio. Its educational programs include:

Instead of operating a university-based hospital for clinical training, Wright State is affiliated with eight major teaching hospitals in the region and has formal affiliation agreements with more than 25 other health care institutions in the Miami Valley. This model exposes medical students and resident physicians to a diverse range of patients and health care facilities. Medical educators believe this "real world" experience is excellent preparation for medical careers in a rapidly changing health care system.

The school's academic departments include basic science departments located on the Wright State University campus and clinical departments based throughout the community. Wright State's clinical faculty teach and provide medical care for almost half a million patient visits annually. In addition to almost 485 full-time faculty, Wright State's voluntary faculty include more than 1,280 physicians in private practice and other health care professionals in the community. Voluntary faculty provide an invaluable service by donating their time and expertise to the training and development of both medical students and residents.

Our innovative educational programs have made the Boonshoft School of Medicine a national leader in generalist medicine, community service and the diversity of our student body. Our research programs are distinguished by interdisciplinary teamwork and community collaboration and include nationally recognized centers of excellence in genomics, toxicology, neuroscience, substance abuse and treatment, and human growth and development.

A Carnegie-classified research university, Wright State University offers degree programs through eight colleges and three schools, including the Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Points of Pride

  • Two AAFP Top Ten Awards—Known for its strong social mission, the medical school has been honored twice since 2013 with Top Ten Awards from the American Academy of Family Physicians as one of the nation’s top medical schools with the highest percentage of graduates who enter family medicine after graduation.
  • Unique, integrated dual-degree programs—The Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP) allows medical students to obtain a master’s degree (M.B.A. or M.P.H.) while pursuing their medical degree over five years. PLDP provides a unique opportunity to integrate medical and graduate studies through a longitudinal clinical experience that all students take during their graduate term.
  • Grads accepted into top residency programs—Our graduates have been accepted into the nation’s top residency programs, including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, UCLA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, New York-Presbyterian University Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Duke University, Stanford University and Wright State University.
  • First in Team-Based Learning™—The Boonshoft School of Medicine was the first medical school in the nation to implement Team-Based Learning™, giving students real-world experience by working closely in small groups to master material, applying their knowledge to clinical cases and defending their diagnosis and treatment plans. Our faculty experts have provided training in Team-Based Learning™ and curriculum development to more than 40 medical and health profession schools in the United States and more than 10 worldwide.
  • Neuroscience Institute named Ohio Center of Excellence—Designated as a University System of Ohio Center of Excellence, the Wright State University & Premier Health Neuroscience Institute unites the Dayton region’s most advanced biomedical research institution with the clinical resources of its leading hospital system. The $37 million Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building completed in 2015 is unique in the nation in bringing together basic researchers, clinical researchers and engineers to develop not only new treatments and cures but also medical devices and imaging technologies that will revolutionize medicine.
  • National leader in community-based medical education—Our school is a national leader in community-based medical education, providing clinical training at nine major teaching hospitals. Two of these institutions are premier federal hospitals and another one operates the busiest emergency department in the state of Ohio.
  • National leader in civilian/military integrated residency programs—For more than 30 years, the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton Children’s Hospital and the U.S. Air Force have partnered to offer the nation’s only civilian-military integrated pediatric residency program, one of six civilian-military residency programs at Wright State training 135 military residents. 
  • Pioneer in emergency medicine—Wright State created the fourth academic Department of Emergency Medicine in the United States and initiated one of the first 10 emergency medicine residency programs in the nation, graduating its first class in 1980.
  • Among the Best Doctors®—Thirty-eight Wright State physicians and faculty of the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and Wright State Physicians were named to the 2017-2018 Best Doctors in America® List. They represented 88 percent of the 43 Dayton-area doctors named. Five of the 43 physicians are Boonshoft School of Medicine alumni, and nine are alumni of the medical school’s residency programs.
  • AAMC honors Boonshoft School of Medicine professor—Dean X. Parmelee, M.D., professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and associate dean for medical education, was recognized with the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) at an awards presentation on Nov. 13, 2016, during the Learn Serve Lead 2016: The AAMC Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash. Dr. Parmelee has been an early pioneer of team-based learning (TBL) and medical education innovation for more than three decades. In 2001, he joined the Boonshoft School of Medicine as associate dean for academic affairs, where he partnered with colleagues to transform the largely passive curriculum into one that engages medical learners. He has been instrumental in the design and implementation of many TBL modules incorporated throughout the medical school’s curriculum.

Boonshoft School of Medicine Ranks Fourth in the Nation for Its Social Mission

A 2010 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine ranks the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine fourth in the nation for its social mission. The study, entitled “The Social Mission of Medical Education: Ranking the Schools,” measured the percentage of graduates who practice primary care, work in health professional shortage areas and are underrepresented minorities, and combined the data into a composite social mission score. It was the first to score all U.S. medical schools on their ability to meet a social mission.

To determine the true outcomes of medical education rather than the intermediate preferences of medical students and residents, the study tracked physicians in practice after the completion of all training and national service obligations. The researchers examined data from medical school graduates from 1999 to 2001. This approach differs from previous studies, which relied on the initial residency selection or reported specialty preference of students. This study pinpoints where graduates are and what type of medicine they actually practice.

"The study provides a balance to other rankings such as the U.S. News & World Report rankings that emphasize research funding, student selectivity and school reputation, which is very subjective,” said Howard Part, M.D., dean of the medical school at the time of the study. “Since many medical school graduates who enter primary care residencies, such as internal medicine, ultimately practice in sub-specialty areas such as cardiology or gastroenterology, studies that only track initial residency selection can be misleading. The methodology used in this study gives a much clearer picture of how many graduates actually practice primary care.”

As the nation’s health system faced an influx of newly insured patients, the study examined the record of 141 U.S. medical schools in graduating physicians to meet the need for more primary care physicians and highlights the role medical schools play in determining the makeup of the U.S. physician workforce. The study was funded with a grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.

“Where doctors choose to work, and what specialty they select, are heavily influenced by medical school,” said lead author Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., a professor of health policy at George Washington University. “By recruiting minority students and prioritizing the training of primary care physicians and promoting practice in underserved areas, medical schools will help deliver the health care that Americans desperately need,” he said.

Top 20 Medical Schools

  1. Morehouse College, Ga.
  2. Meharry Medical College, Tenn.
  3. Howard University, Washington, D.C.
  4. Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Ohio
  5. University of Kansas, Kan.
  6. Michigan State University, Mich.
  7. East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, N.C.
  8. University of South Alabama, Ala.
  9. Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa
  1. Oregon Health & Science University, Ore.
  2. East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine, Tenn.
  3. University of Mississippi, Miss.
  4. University of Kentucky, Ky.
  5. Southern Illinois University, Ill.
  6. Marshall University Joan C. Edwards University, W.Va.
  7. University of Massachusetts Medical School, Mass.
  8. University of Illinois, Ill.
  9. University of New Mexico, N.M.
  10. University of Wisconsin, Wis.

History

Created by Community Leaders

The vision for a medical school at Wright State University originated with Dayton area physicians and community leaders who recognized that using existing hospitals and other clinical resources would be a cost-effective model for medical education. In return, the school's community involvement would strengthen the health care system throughout the region.

M.D. Licensure Disclosure

Successful completion of the Doctor of Medicine program meets the medical educational requirements for licensure in Ohio as regulated by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

Successful completion of the Doctor of Medicine program meets the medical educational requirements for licensure in all other states,  but testing and graduate medical education requirements vary from state to state. If you are planning to pursue medical licensure in a state other than Ohio, please contact that state’s medical board  to seek information and guidance regarding that state’s licensure requirements.