Message from The Dean

Headshot of Interim Dean Whitehair

At the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU, we're embarking on an inspiring journey. Our mission: transform healthcare not only in South Florida, but far beyond, through the power of world-class education. I am thrilled to guide our team that is shaping the future - a future filled with ethical, compassionate, and innovative doctors and researchers committed to advancing healthcare through biomedical discovery and clinical innovation.

Our path to success is anchored in the power of transformative research. This drives us to discover new knowledge, vital for pushing the boundaries of patient-centered, evidence-based medicine while prioritizing patient safety and continuous quality improvement.

Our College thrives on the strength of our relationships. Our partnerships with numerous local hospitals and healthcare providers are invaluable. These relationships foster superior clinical learning environments and mentorship opportunities, equipping our learners to realize their lifelong dreams.

Success is a collective journey. When we come together as a team, we can evolve from being good to becoming truly great. Your commitment and collaboration are the heartbeat of our shared mission. I am extremely grateful for your dedication as we work to turn our shared dream into reality.

As we work together to shape the future of healthcare, let's remember the words of C.S. Lewis: "You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." We are right where we need to be, ready to start the next chapter of our story. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.

The FAU Health Network

The mission of the FAU Health Network is to transcend the competitive landscape through education and research collaborations between the region’s leading public and private academic and medical leaders. The purpose of this network is to maximize interactions between colleges at FAU, including nursing, medicine, engineering, science, education, business, social work and arts and letters to expand our ability to train the needed workforce in an interprofessional environment. These collaborative academic endeavors allow for innovative solutions necessary to tackle the workforce crisis.

Strategic goals have been identified to help realize the vision of the FAU Health Network. To meet these goals, the College of Medicine will increase structured collaboration with colleges, pillars, and institutes at FAU; create a portfolio of assets and faculty expertise at FAU; and, assess and prioritize existing partnerships, create brand recognition and identify existing gaps.

The goals for the FAU Health Network are as follows:

  1. Increase pre-health pathways from A.D. Henderson through employment as healthcare professionals to provide opportunities for all students interested in healthcare regardless of degree program. Tied to FAU’s ‘Success for all’ emphasis, the basis for revolutionizing healthcare is an education that starts in pre-school and extends through post-graduate training.
  2. Optimize the interprofessional training of future nurses, allied health professionals, and health technologists/engineers to ensure that learners receive training for ‘jobs of the future,’ i.e., careers at the intersection of technology, medicine, nursing, public health and human biology.
  3. Establish synergies for bench to bedside research and education. Creating a transformative community care model of personalized inter-disciplinary care outside the walls of traditional healthcare facilities allows healthcare professionals to meet patients where they reside.
  4. Grow a physician workforce of tomorrow by addressing the number of providers trained. During the next five years, the college will Increase the medical student class size to over 100+ learners (up from 64) and residency/fellowship programs to 300+ learners (up from 177).
  5. Expand FAU mission-centric education and research faculty who are integral to the mission of FAU Health. The college will pursue new core competencies with the recruitment of clinician scientists, focusing on areas that serve the community while addressing the evolving needs of patient care and new technologies.
  6. Develop a model for predictive analytics derived care, emphasizing telehealth and mobile/prehospital medicine to develop novel treatments and delivery systems for personalized care, using AI applications to produce positive outcomes.
  7. Nourish relationships with community partners to build a collaborative network resulting in mutual benefit for FAU’s colleges and the broader community it serves. Regional partners in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin Counties offer an outstanding opportunity for dynamic faculty and learner experiences; provide connectivity to the local healthcare community; and ensure the recruitment and retention of our healthcare professionals.
Additional Information
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine offers students a variety of educational programs and degrees.
Address
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road, BC-71
Boca Raton, FL 33431