A study of U.S. medical schools shows University of Mississippi Medical Center efforts to train physicians for rural communities and underserved populations in Mississippi are working.

When scored for performance in three categories considered fundamental to a medical school's societal role, the School of Medicine placed 13th of 141 in the nation.

The study, published in the June 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed 141 schools for performance in three areas of what the authors identified as social mission: percentage of graduates in primary care, percentage practicing in federally identified "Health Professional Shortage

The University of Mississippi Medical Center will partner with the renowned Mayo Clinic on a series of initiatives intended to convert laboratory discoveries into new therapies and train a new generation of medical scientists.

An agreement between the institutions, titled the Translational Research and Training Program for Clinician Scientists, was formally announced July 8 at UMMC during a visit from Mayo Clinic researchers. The agreement sets the stage for a wide array of possible collaborations in the future.

Through training, mentorship and research collaborations, the two institutions will look for ways to translate the understanding of diseases from basic-

Mississippi Blood Services personnel will visit the Medical Center June 21-25 for UMMC’s quarterly blood drive. All donors will receive an MBS T-shirt. Photo identification is required to donate blood. Times and locations of the drive include: from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday-Tuesday, June 21-22, in donor coaches between the School of Medicine and the Guyton Research Center; from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, in a donor coach in the parking lot of the UMMC Medical Towers at 440 East Woodrow Wilson Drive; from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, in a donor coach at the entrance to University Hospital; from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, in the lobby of the School of Dentistry; from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. on Thursday, June 24, in a donor coach at the

Nurse satisfaction, retention efforts pay huge dividends at UMHC

The nursing shortage that was part of life at the Medical Center for so many decades has quietly and without much fanfare dissolved.

The nursing turnover rate at University of Mississippi Health Care (UMHC) is 6.8 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006-2007.

Christina (Tina) Higgins, manager of the Office of Nursing Excellence, says it’s difficult to say “what one stone tossed into the pond made the most difference.” But the fact is, nursing satisfaction and retention have been the focus of several major efforts in the last few years.  “It’s all about empowering staff to reach their potential,” Higgins said. “When nurses feel as though they can have a real