By Marija B. Vader

Erik Wallace, M.D., is one of the newest staff members at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. An internal medicine physician and associate dean, Wallace is working full-time getting the University of Colorado School of Medicines branch campus up and running. Hes recruiting students and faculty. In addition to his role at UCCS, Wallace plans to practice medicine in Colorado Springs. He had worked 10 years at the branch campus at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa. When the job opened to establish a branch medical campus of the CU system, he jumped at the chance. His passion is medical education. Wallace and his wife Nichole have two daughters.

How has your career prepared you for your current position?

I completed medical school at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Internal Medicine training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Although I received an outstanding medical education, what I primarily learned was how to diagnose and treat illness from a doctors perspective. During my tenure as faculty at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, I learned about the individual and public health barriers that patients face when trying to be healthy and productive members of society. Understanding and addressing the social determinants of health from the patients perspective is essential for physicians to provide high-quality, interdisciplinary care in the 21st century. As a clinician-educator, I have had the opportunity to develop innovative medical education programs for students, residents and faculty at both local and national levels. Colorado Springs has not had a structure for medical education, so it now has an opportunity to develop unique education models that provide a superior experience for medical students who are engaged in improving the health of the community.

The Colorado Springs Branch is the first branch of the CU School of Medicine. How does one go about creating a medical school branch?

There has been tremendous growth in medical school branches in the past decade in the U.S. The branches not only help medical schools expand their class sizes to train more doctors, but these branches allow students to learn and work in communities where there are new clinical training opportunities and where there are physician shortages. The success of medical school branches, including the Colorado Springs branch, depends on the support of the main medical school campus and the support of the community where it is located. Creating a brand new medical school is extraordinarily expensive several hundred million dollars. Creating a branch of an existing medical school is far more cost-effective.

When will this campus have medical students?

See the article here:

Wallace leads medical campus growth and future