A new Christian medical school has opened in Nashville, Tennessee, marking the first time in over 40 years that such a school has opened in the southern state. The school, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University, focuses on teaching future doctors a "whole person" model of healthcare, emphasizing servant leadership and compassionate care that takes into account patients' social, spiritual, and emotional needs. Currently, about 50 students are finishing its inaugural school year, which is good news given that they can contribute to a workforce facing severe shortages.

“I call them the fabulous 50,” Tanu Rana, a microbiologist and immunologist on the new faculty, said. “I love them dearly, and I’ve really enjoyed every second with them.”

The 50 students are individuals from a variety of backgrounds including veterans, farm kids, and speakers of 24 different languages. Belmont is the first medical school of any kind to open in Tennessee in 50 years and the first Christian medical school to open since 1981, when Oral Roberts University had opened a Christian MD-granting institution but closed in 1990 due to millions in debt. Belmont’s medical school, founded by members of the Frist family, has a clinical and advisory partnership with the prominent Nashville-based health system, HCA Healthcare. Peter Huwe, who previously taught at Mercer University School of Medicine before joining the Belmont medical school faculty, said he had dreamed of teaching from a Christian perspective.

"I could look around and see, ‘Oh yeah, this is going to work. They’ve got the pieces in place,’” Howe, who is now a biochemistry professor at the school, said.

Another Christian school, the Los Angeles-based Loma Linda University School of Medicine, has likewise taught the “whole person care” model that Belmont is now teaching. Additionally, there has been an increase in national medical organizations recommending the whole-person model to US physicians, especially in primary care. Later this year, another new, nonreligious medical school will be focused on whole-person care.

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