The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School, GW Medicine, or SMHS) is the professional

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

of the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

SMHS is one of the most selective medical schools in the United States based on the number of applicants. It was the eleventh medical school to open in what is now the United States, and is the seventh-oldest medical school in the country that is still operating.

Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks GW Medicine as having the third best

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...

program, the 29th best

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

program, as tied for the 58th best research medical school, and as tied for the 68th best primary care medical school in the United States. The

George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) is a short-stay hospital in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Since 2022, the hospital has been wholly owned and operated ...

has routinely served the medical needs of

presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive bra ...

and members of the U.S. Congress. GW Medicine is regularly one of the most selective medical schools in the U.S. based on the number of applicants and its acceptance rate. GW SMHS experienced a rise in the number of applications, to 14,649 applications in 2012. In 2013 and 2024, it was named the most competitive medical school in the country to get admission to; in 2017 and 2022, it had the fifth-lowest acceptance rate of any medical school in the United States; year-to-year, the exact ranking varies but rarely leaves the top 5. It receives more applications each year than any other allopathic medical school in the country. The school has more than 700 medical students currently enrolled in its

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

(MD) program.

Academics

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences contains a variety of programs such as the M.D. Program, the Physician Assistant program, and the Physical Therapy program. Multiple

Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

have been affiliated with SMHS, including

Ferid Murad Ferid Murad (September 14, 1936 – September 4, 2023) was an American physician and pharmacologist, and a co-winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Early life Ferid Murad was born in Whiting, Indiana, on September 14, ...

Vincent du Vigneaud Vincent du Vigneaud (May 18, 1901 – December 11, 1978) was an American biochemist. He was recipient of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on biochemically important sulphur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypep ...

, and

Julius Axelrod Julius Axelrod (May 30, 1912 – December 29, 2004) was an American biochemist. He won a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 along with Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler. The Nobel Committee honored him for his work on the ...

. The school maintains numerous research centers and institutes. Among the most notable are The Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Cancer Research Center, the GW Heart and Vascular Institute, the McCormick Genomic and Proteomic Center, the W.M. Keck Institute for Proteomics Technology and Applications, The Rodham Institute, Washington Institute of Surgical Endoscopy, the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine, the GW Institute for Neuroscience, the Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, and the GW HIV/AIDS Institute. The

Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library The Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library was completed in 1973 during the presidency of Lloyd Elliott. The library serves the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, the George Washington University School of Public Healt ...

is the academic library for GW SMHS.

International Medicine Program

The International MD Program was developed by the Office of International Medicine Programs at GW in response to the great demand for U.S.-educated physicians abroad. Differences in educational/teaching styles, language, and culture may present further obstacles to international students who apply to American programs. The International MD Program is designed to facilitate international students who wish to practice medicine, and to further GW's mission to improve the health and well-being of communities beyond its locale by promoting the exchange of knowledge across cultures. Residency training for graduates of non-U.S. medical schools and colleges is also provided by GW SMHS.

Other programs

Other programs include clinical laboratory sciences and administration training. In addition to numerous bachelor, certificate, and masters programs, the school also offers advanced training through a nurse practitioner/doctor of nursing practice program, a physician assistant program, doctor of physical therapy program, and a PhD in translational sciences program. The school offers many Early Selection options through participating universities, as well as a seven-year accelerated program.

Admissions

George Washington University Hospital - 2012

Admission to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences is the most competitive of the

's graduate programs. For the 2022-2023 application cycle which matriculated its class of 2026 in the fall of 2022, about 181 accepted students matriculated out of a competitive pool of 15,216 applicants who all applied to The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences M.D. Program. Of the 15,216 applicants, only about 800 were interviewed, and just over 300 students were accepted with 181 matriculating. The George Washington University School of Medicine has an acceptance rate of 1.09% for students matriculating to School of Medicine in the Class of 2026. In the 2021-2022 application season, George Washington University was the 4th most applied to medical school in the country and ranked as the 7th most selective medical school in the United States based on the number of applicants. It was the most applied-to U.S. medical school in the 2023-2024 application season. The School of Medicine had the lowest admissions rate in the United States in 2016 and 2013, based on the number of applicants (1.1 percent during 2016 admission cycle) according to '' U.S. News & World Report''. For the MD class entering in 2019, a little more than 1,000 applicants were interviewed out of a total number of 12,057 applicants. Approximately 300 individuals were accepted, with 184 enrolling. Students had an average GPA of 3.71, and a mean MCAT score of 512.8. Among the 46 medical schools with the highest MCAT scores, the typical student had an average score of 517, while the average MCAT for matriculants of all medical schools was 511.5. Four out of every ten MD students holds an undergraduate degrees in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. A unique aspect of the school is the Practice of Medicine (POM) course that spans the entire length of a medical student's education. GW was one of the first in the country to place students in clinical settings from the start of their medical school experience. The student body of each new admitted class expanded significantly from about 182 students to 210 in Fall 2024, with 30 students in the Class of 2028 admitted specifically to do their clinical rotations at the school's new regional medical campus at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. 3rd-year GW medical students transferring from the Washington, DC area to do all of their core clinical rotations at Sinai Hospital first began in Fall 2023.

Research

George Washington University Medical School USNWR

GW SMHS is home to many research centers and institutes. Among them are the Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Cancer Research Center, the GW Cancer Center, the Rodham Institute, the Institute for Biomedical Sciences, and the GW Institute for Neuroscience.

The Health Sciences Research Commons

Health Sciences Research CommonsHSRC
is an online repository for GWU School of Medicine and Health Sciences staff and faculty research articles and other publications.

Affiliations

Children's National Medical Center

The Department of Pediatrics within SMHS is housed at Children's National Medical Center. In addition, the SMHS and Children's National partner on a variety of projects and initiatives.

Medical Faculty Associates

The school has a partnership with the

Medical Faculty Associates The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates (MFA) is a non-profit 501(c)3 physician group practice affiliated with the George Washington University. The MFA group practice is made up of academic clinical faculty of the GW Medical ...

who have over 800 physicians on staff that provide teaching and professional services to the community. The staff of GW MFA are also academic clinical faculty of the SMHS.

Controversy

In 2008, the LCME or

Liaison Committee on Medical Education The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada.''Glossary.'' ACGME website. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical ...

put the George Washington University Medical School on accreditation probation, citing a number of issues. While declining to publish the entire list, among the problems acknowledged by GW were its outdated system of managing its curriculum, the curriculum itself, high levels of student debt, student mistreatment, and inadequate study and lounge space for its students. Significantly, in 2008, GWU was the only medical school (among 129 LCME accredited institutions) to be placed on probation and the first such in fifteen years. GW implemented a plan to rectify these problems. Its probationary status was lifted in February 2010. Subsequently, the two top GWU medical school administrators were forced to resign over the alleged conflicts of interest.

Notable people

File:Axelrod01.jpg,

, winner of the 1970

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

File:RADM_Kenneth_P._Moritsugu,_USPHSCC.jpg, Kenneth P. Moritsugu,

U.S. Surgeon General The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. T ...

File:Jeffrey_Lieberman.jpg,

Jeffrey Lieberman Jeffrey Alan Lieberman (born 1948) is an American psychiatrist who specializes in schizophrenia and related psychoses and their associated neuroscience (biology) and pharmacological treatment (psychiatric drugs). He was principal investigator for ...

, president of the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 39,200 members who are in ...

File:Nci-vol-2727-300 Vincent DeVita (cropped).jpg,

Vincent T. DeVita Vincent Theodore DeVita Jr. (born March 7, 1935) is the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine at Yale Cancer Center, and a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. He directed the Yale Cancer Center from 1993 to 2003. He has been pre ...

, president of the board of directors of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

File:Neal D. Barnard (cropped).jpg,

Neal D. Barnard Neal D. Barnard (born 10 July 1953) is an American animal rights activist, physician and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Barnard has authored books advocating a whole food plant-based dietary eating ...

, founder of the

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. According to Charity Navigator, the organization works for "compassionate and effective medical practice, res ...

File:Seo_Jae-pil_1947.jpg,

Soh Jaipil Seo Jae-pil (; January 7, 1864 – January 5, 1951), better known by his English name Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean Americans, Korean American politician, physician, and Korean independence movement, Korean independence activist. He was the fi ...

, leader of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

File:James_I_Ausman,_M.D.,_Ph.D._photo,_James_I._Ausman,_M.D.,_PhD.jpg,

James I. Ausman James Ivan Ausman (born December 10, 1937) is an American neurosurgeon, science editor, and medical entrepreneur. He is currently a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the emeritus editor-in-chief of ''S ...

, editor-in-chief of ''

Surgical Neurology International ''Surgical Neurology International'' is a weekly, peer-reviewed, open access medical journal that was established in 2010 and is published bScientific Scholar It publishes original articles, review articles, case reports, technical notes, and edit ...

'' File:Donna_christensen.JPG, Donna Christian-Christensen, Resident Commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands File:Francis_delmonico.jpg,

Francis L. Delmonico Francis L. Delmonico, MD, FACS (born in New York in 1945) is an American surgeon, clinical professor and health expert in the field of transplantation. He serves on numerous committees and is affiliated with various leading organizations and ins ...

, member of the

Pontifical Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (, ) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study ...

File:Neal_Dunn_115th_Congress_photo.jpg,

Neal Dunn Neal Patrick Dunn (born February 16, 1953) is an American surgeon and Republican Party politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. Early life and career Dunn was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1953. He earned ...

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Florida

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Colleges and Schools of The George Washington University Medical schools in Washington, D.C. Educational institutions established in 1824 Medical research institutes in Washington, D.C. Medical schools in the United States