Dean's Office

History of Medical Education in Chattanooga

History from 1899
	From an historical prospective, medical education programs have existed at Erlanger since 1899 (then known as Baroness Erlanger Hospital). The Chattanooga Medical College, part of Grant College (later re-named the University of Chattanooga), was opened in 1899 near the hospital in downtown Chattanooga and immediately formed an amiable relationship with Erlanger. The first intern at Erlanger was a graduate of the Chattanooga Medical College, Dr. German Haymore. The American Medical Association officially approved Erlanger's internship program in 1915. Other residency programs offered at Erlanger over the next few decades included: Flexible Internship, Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Oral Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pathology, Pediatrics, Plastic Surgery, Radiology, and Surgery.

German P. Haymore, MD 1900 Graduate of the Chattanooga Medical College became Erlanger's First Intern	Students receiving surgical instruction in the amphitheater of the Chattanooga Medical College in 1899

Recent History
In the early 1970's, due to stringent accreditation standards, Erlanger faced considerable difficulty in maintaining quality programs as a stand-alone community hospital without the involvement of a major medical school. The Oral Surgery and Anesthesiology programs had voluntarily closed.
In 1973, as a result of a grassroots effort organized by citizens concerned with the quality of local health care, the Tennessee State Legislature established a Chattanooga Clinical Education Center of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Erlanger Medical Center was selected as the primary training site and included T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital and the Willie D. Miller Eye Center. An affiliation agreement was signed between the hospital and the University. Under this agreement the University assumed educational responsibility for all medical education programs at these facilities.
The three major areas of responsibility of the Chattanooga Unit were defined as:	the training of medical students electing to participate in clinical clerkships and electives graduate training of residents and training physicians and allied health personnel in continuing medical education opportunities
	Today, the Chattanooga campus, now called the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga, remains a viable part of a statewide network of Graduate Medical Education and is a component of the main medical school campus in Memphis. Our primary clinical training site is The Erlanger Health System , specifically the Erlanger Baroness Campus shown above, as well as other Erlanger campuses: Children's Hospital at Erlanger (located adjacent to the Baroness campus), Erlanger East (including a new Emergency Department), Erlanger North, and the UT Family Practice Center. Erlanger is the region’s only tertiary care center and major teaching hospital and is licensed for 818 acute beds and 50 long-term care beds serving patients from 50 counties within a 150 mile radius.
Sponsored programs as of July 1, 2014 provide training for approximately 172 residents and fellows in the following programs:	Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Emergency Medicine Residency Family Medicine Residency Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Internal Medicine Residency Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Fellowship (MIGS) (Approved by the Association of Adanvced Gynecologic Laparoscopists, trainees hold faculty appointments) Neuro-Interventional Surgery Fellowship (non-ACGME Accredited, trainees hold faculty appointments) OB/GYN Residency Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship (Approved by the Orthopaedic Trauma Association) Pediatrics Residency Plastic Surgery Residency Surgery Residency Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Transitional Year Residency Transitions to Practice in General Surgery (approved by the American College of Surgeons, trainees hold faculty appointments) Urology Residency (ACGME accredited to begin 7/1/2015) Vascular Surgery Fellowship
Additional fellowships being developed include:	Cardiology (ACGME accredited) Emergency Medical Services (ACGME accredited to begin 7/1/2015) Emergency Medicine Ultrasound (non ACGME accredited) Gastroenterology (ACGME accredited) Medical Oncology (ACGME accredited) Pulmonary Critical Care (ACGME accredited)
Revised 9/1/2014