KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) Thursday marks the official grand opening of Western Michigan Universitys new medical school. More than 1,500 people will be on the campus of Stryker Medical School for a ceremony Thursday evening. The community will have a chance to see the school and welcome its inaugural class of 54 students. The class of 2018 started class a month ago. The students are already getting some great hands-on experience. On Tuesday, the future doctors tested their skills on a number of mock disasters, seeing what it's like on the front lines of medicine, treating mock patients from car crashes to bombings. We're told WMU is one of the few medical schools to put its students through an intense program like this. Community leaders hope the graduates will eventually stay and practice here in Southwest Michigan.

"I think this is going to be a part of moving our community to the next level," says Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell. "We are a masterpiece in progress I always say. We have so many great things but now we're going to be a leader in healthcare from the standpoint of medical education."

More than 3,500 people applied to Stryker Medical School for its inaugural year. The school accepted 24 women and 30 men. The students come from 14 states and 35 colleges, including three from WMU and two from Kalamazoo College. Registration for Thursdays grand opening ceremony is now closed but it will be streamed live online, starting at 4:15pm: http://vteamproductions.com/wmu/. If you would like to check out the new campus, the school will be hosting tours this Saturday.

For more information, click here: http://med.wmich.edu/.

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WMU medical school holding official grand opening