The University of Florida Health Science Center in Gainesville is a modern complex that advances human health and educates tomorrow's leaders in the health professions. Situated at the southeast corner of the 2,000-acre campus of the University of Florida, the colleges that compose the Health Science Center enjoy the benefits of strong ties with other programs within the university.
The College of Dentistry's physical plant is part of the overall Health Science Center since modern educational concepts include dentistry as an integral element of a comprehensive academic health center. The Health Science Center also includes the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine; Shands Hospital at the University of Florida; and the University of Florida Shands Clinic. These facilities are totally integrated to provide a center for modern patient care and clinical experience, allowing the health-oriented professions to exchange information that furthers the understanding of health and illness.
The close relationships between the College of Dentistry and the other colleges of the Health Science Center and the interaction among the faculties foster related curricular and patient care activities. This atmosphere enables the colleges to present programs that meet contemporary educational needs and consider the total health of patients. The Health Science Center 's academic programs prepare health professions students and residents to understand that today's health care involves the health team: dentists, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, counselors, persons in health related professions, researchers, and educators. By training together, and later by working together, these men and women can contribute more effectively to a person's well-being and, as a result, to the well-being of the community.
The Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville also functions as a unit of the Health Science Center. This affiliation is based on legislation passed in 1946 which made possible the affiliation of Veterans Administration hospitals with the medical schools of the country. These partnerships provide superior patient care to VA patients through the utilization of resources of the affiliated universities and provide significant educational and research resources for the universities. Subsequent legislation broadened the sharing of specialized resources, including dentistry, between the universities and the VA medical centers.
Faculty, students, and residents from the colleges of the Health Science Center work closely in patient care programs, in education, and in research activities. Members of the VA Medical Center clinical services hold joint faculty appointments in the colleges. As a result of this affiliation in programs and personnel, the Gainesville VA Medical Center has one of the strongest clinical patient care teams in the nation. The VA Medical Center in Miami, Fla., also has academic affiliations with the College of Dentistry.
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