BYU is getting a medical school.

[bsjkki]

This is good. 

[LoudmouthMormon]

Excellent!

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/07/29/byu-medical-school-annnounced-by-church-of-jesus-christ/

“Brigham Young University is committed to academic excellence in targeted graduate disciplines, traditionally focused on business and law. The First Presidency is pleased to announce the decision now to create a medical school at BYU. A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts."

I'm excited.

[mbh26]

Excellent!

[Tacenda]

41 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

This is good. 

I think so too!

[The Nehor]

That is neat.

Some of the comments are creepy though.

[Okrahomer]

The emphasis of the new school is fascinating:  “…the BYU medical school will be focused on teaching with research in areas of strategic importance to the Church.”

Does this mean BYU-Med will be emphasizing research into medical issues related to malnutrition and clean water?  Those seem like two areas of very high interest in terms of the Church’s humanitarian outreach.

[Bernard Gui]

Oh, good news indeed. And it’s a Very Good Thing that the Church hoarded all that ill-gotten cash. Med schools can be very expensive.

Edited July 29, 2024 by Bernard Gui

[LoudmouthMormon]

1 hour ago, Okrahomer said:

Does this mean BYU-Med will be emphasizing research into medical issues related to malnutrition and clean water?  Those seem like two areas of very high interest in terms of the Church’s humanitarian outreach.

I'm thinking it's possible.  A quote from the earlier Deseret.com story was: "A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members ... and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts."

Awful lot of temples in an awful lot of poor countries, with more announced every 6 months.   The U.S. average GDP is ~$63k.  Here's the numbers of temples in places with per capita GDP of under $10k:

Mexico	24	$  9,890
Brazil	22	$  9,130
Dominican Republic	1	$  7,320
Colombia	3	$  6,750
Peru	9	$  6,550
Ecuador	2	$  6,320
South Africa	3	$  6,030
South Korea	2	$  6,030
Thailand	1	$  5,880
Fiji	1	$  5,640
Angola	1	$  4,520
Mongolia	1	$  4,520
Paraguay	1	$  4,510
Samoa	2	$  4,460
Guatemala	6	$  4,380
El Salvador	1	$  4,250
Tonga	2	$  4,130
Indonesia	1	$  4,070
Vanuatu	1	$  3,570
Cape Verde	1	$  3,230
Philippines	13	$  3,040
Venezuela	1	$  2,400
Bolivia	3	$  2,340
Côte d'Ivoire	1	$  2,320
Ghana	3	$  2,310
Honduras	2	$  2,310
Nigeria	5	$  2,230
Ukraine	1	$  2,190
Nicaragua	1	$  2,110
Zimbabwe	1	$  2,070
New Guinea	1	$  2,020
India	1	$  2,000
Republic of the Congo	3	$  1,960
Kiribati	1	$  1,850
Kenya	1	$  1,790
Cambodia	1	$  1,590
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	$     887
Haiti	1	$     870
Liberia	1	$     670
Mozambique	1	$     540
Madagascar	1	$     520
Sierra Leone	1	$     510

 

 

It's got to be quite an experience to set aside the daily staving off crippling poverty and the constant threat of starvation, to go put on your suit and sit in air-conditioned comfort behind the temple's marble walls, on the fanciest chairs you've ever experienced.     I'm betting yes, absolutely, the church's entry into the medical school scene will have a massive focus on the medical needs of the least of the humans. 

[Calm]

4 hours ago, bsjkki said:

This is good. 

I was just thinking yesterday how many hospitals we have in the area, we don’t need a new one imo, especially with the footprint a teaching hospital would need…not sure where they would put it close to BYU.  Working with the existing system is smart.

Will be very interested to see how this works.  Back when I was attending, they were allegedly very insistent on focusing primarily on undergrad degrees from what I was told (I actually got in a discussion with someone who worked there iirc about how BYU would never get a medical school, the nursing degree worked well enough with the goal of training women to be good mothers, just like their outstanding education department).  It was a discussion suggesting it was better to get my postgraduate work done elsewhere…but my husband did well with his Ph.D in psych from BYU, so there may have been some bias in that advice.

[Calm]

2 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

Oh, good news indeed. And it’s a Very Good Thing that the Church hoarded all that ill-gotten cash. Med schools can be very expensive.

It will likely take a good chunk of it.

I wonder if the usual subsidy of students will apply.  If so, that may lead many nonmembers to try and attend once it gets established as iirc, tuition is still a good deal for nonmembers, though I haven’t looked at rates for a number of years.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

I'm thinking it's possible.  A quote from the earlier Deseret.com story was: "A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members ... and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts."

Awful lot of temples in an awful lot of poor countries, with more announced every 6 months.   The U.S. average GDP is ~$63k.  Here's the numbers of temples in places with per capita GDP of under $10k:

Mexico	24	$  9,890
Brazil	22	$  9,130
Dominican Republic	1	$  7,320
Colombia	3	$  6,750
Peru	9	$  6,550
Ecuador	2	$  6,320
South Africa	3	$  6,030
South Korea	2	$  6,030
Thailand	1	$  5,880
Fiji	1	$  5,640
Angola	1	$  4,520
Mongolia	1	$  4,520
Paraguay	1	$  4,510
Samoa	2	$  4,460
Guatemala	6	$  4,380
El Salvador	1	$  4,250
Tonga	2	$  4,130
Indonesia	1	$  4,070
Vanuatu	1	$  3,570
Cape Verde	1	$  3,230
Philippines	13	$  3,040
Venezuela	1	$  2,400
Bolivia	3	$  2,340
Côte d'Ivoire	1	$  2,320
Ghana	3	$  2,310
Honduras	2	$  2,310
Nigeria	5	$  2,230
Ukraine	1	$  2,190
Nicaragua	1	$  2,110
Zimbabwe	1	$  2,070
New Guinea	1	$  2,020
India	1	$  2,000
Republic of the Congo	3	$  1,960
Kiribati	1	$  1,850
Kenya	1	$  1,790
Cambodia	1	$  1,590
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	$     887
Haiti	1	$     870
Liberia	1	$     670
Mozambique	1	$     540
Madagascar	1	$     520
Sierra Leone	1	$     510

 

 

It's got to be quite an experience to set aside the daily staving off crippling poverty and the constant threat of starvation, to go put on your suit and sit in air-conditioned comfort behind the temple's marble walls, on the fanciest chairs you've ever experienced.     I'm betting yes, absolutely, the church's entry into the medical school scene will have a massive focus on the medical needs of the least of the humans. 

I can foresee a lot of internships coupled with LDS Philanthropies around the world.

[Teancum]

4 hours ago, bsjkki said:

This is good. 

Great news!!!

[Okrahomer]

6 hours ago, Calm said:

not sure where they would put it close to BYU.

My guess is they will build the school on a portion of land they acquired when they purchased  the old Provo High School — just a hop skip and a jump from there over to the Intermountain Hospital where is sounds like most of the clinical training will happen.

I wonder if/how this news impacts the Noorda Medical School?

[2BizE]

I think it is wonderful that BYU will add a medical school. Utah has a big need for another medical school.

[Anakin7]

A True Grace/Holy Ghost Empowered Decision.

[Analytics]

This is great news.

When I was a kid growing up in Sandy in the 1980’s, a question we argued about on the playground was which school was better, the U or the Y? One of the points that always came up was that the U had a medical school and the Y did not. The topic came up in seminary a few times, and our teachers explained that medical schools in the U.S. were too expensive to operate without some funding from the federal government, and if you accept such funding you lose your independence, which is why the Y wasn’t interested in a medical school.

Things have now changed, and the Church can easily afford this independently. I’m moderately hopeful that they will follow the lead of NYU, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, John Hopkins, and the Cleveland Clinic and set the tuition at cool zero dollars.

[Tacenda]

21 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

I'm thinking it's possible.  A quote from the earlier Deseret.com story was: "A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members ... and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts."

Awful lot of temples in an awful lot of poor countries, with more announced every 6 months.   The U.S. average GDP is ~$63k.  Here's the numbers of temples in places with per capita GDP of under $10k:

Mexico	24	$  9,890
Brazil	22	$  9,130
Dominican Republic	1	$  7,320
Colombia	3	$  6,750
Peru	9	$  6,550
Ecuador	2	$  6,320
South Africa	3	$  6,030
South Korea	2	$  6,030
Thailand	1	$  5,880
Fiji	1	$  5,640
Angola	1	$  4,520
Mongolia	1	$  4,520
Paraguay	1	$  4,510
Samoa	2	$  4,460
Guatemala	6	$  4,380
El Salvador	1	$  4,250
Tonga	2	$  4,130
Indonesia	1	$  4,070
Vanuatu	1	$  3,570
Cape Verde	1	$  3,230
Philippines	13	$  3,040
Venezuela	1	$  2,400
Bolivia	3	$  2,340
Côte d'Ivoire	1	$  2,320
Ghana	3	$  2,310
Honduras	2	$  2,310
Nigeria	5	$  2,230
Ukraine	1	$  2,190
Nicaragua	1	$  2,110
Zimbabwe	1	$  2,070
New Guinea	1	$  2,020
India	1	$  2,000
Republic of the Congo	3	$  1,960
Kiribati	1	$  1,850
Kenya	1	$  1,790
Cambodia	1	$  1,590
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	$     887
Haiti	1	$     870
Liberia	1	$     670
Mozambique	1	$     540
Madagascar	1	$     520
Sierra Leone	1	$     510

 

 

It's got to be quite an experience to set aside the daily staving off crippling poverty and the constant threat of starvation, to go put on your suit and sit in air-conditioned comfort behind the temple's marble walls, on the fanciest chairs you've ever experienced.     I'm betting yes, absolutely, the church's entry into the medical school scene will have a massive focus on the medical needs of the least of the humans. 

I sure hope so, this would gather a lot of non members to the church in a heartbeat.

[Tacenda]

23 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

Oh, good news indeed. And it’s a Very Good Thing that the Church hoarded all that ill-gotten cash. Med schools can be very expensive.

Heck yeah! Keep these things a coming!

[Peppermint Patty]

21 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

I'm thinking it's possible.  A quote from the earlier Deseret.com story was: "A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members ... and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts."

Awful lot of temples in an awful lot of poor countries, with more announced every 6 months.   The U.S. average GDP is ~$63k.  Here's the numbers of temples in places with per capita GDP of under $10k:

Mexico	24	$  9,890
Brazil	22	$  9,130
Dominican Republic	1	$  7,320
Colombia	3	$  6,750
Peru	9	$  6,550
Ecuador	2	$  6,320
South Africa	3	$  6,030
South Korea	2	$  6,030
Thailand	1	$  5,880
Fiji	1	$  5,640
Angola	1	$  4,520
Mongolia	1	$  4,520
Paraguay	1	$  4,510
Samoa	2	$  4,460
Guatemala	6	$  4,380
El Salvador	1	$  4,250
Tonga	2	$  4,130
Indonesia	1	$  4,070
Vanuatu	1	$  3,570
Cape Verde	1	$  3,230
Philippines	13	$  3,040
Venezuela	1	$  2,400
Bolivia	3	$  2,340
Côte d'Ivoire	1	$  2,320
Ghana	3	$  2,310
Honduras	2	$  2,310
Nigeria	5	$  2,230
Ukraine	1	$  2,190
Nicaragua	1	$  2,110
Zimbabwe	1	$  2,070
New Guinea	1	$  2,020
India	1	$  2,000
Republic of the Congo	3	$  1,960
Kiribati	1	$  1,850
Kenya	1	$  1,790
Cambodia	1	$  1,590
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	$     887
Haiti	1	$     870
Liberia	1	$     670
Mozambique	1	$     540
Madagascar	1	$     520
Sierra Leone	1	$     510

 

This list must be about 35 years old? South Korea's GDP per capita is over $33,000.00 per year, instead of $6,030.  Mexico' per capita income is around $14,000.00, instead of $9,890.00.  A lot of these numbers are off, by a lot:  GDP per capita (current US$) | Data (worldbank.org)

 

[LoudmouthMormon]

30 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I sure hope so, this would gather a lot of non members to the church in a heartbeat.

I have plenty of favorable opinions of Catholics because of all the hospitals.   

Sounds like a match made in heaven.  They'll run the hospitals, and we'll crank out the medical people to fill them, and we'll all work together to keep that wonderful spiritual aspect associated with healthcare. 

I think just about 80% of the hospital care for my family, including births, have all been in places named Saint [Something].

[LoudmouthMormon]

6 minutes ago, Peppermint Patty said:

This list must be about 35 years old? South Korea's GDP per capita is over $33,000.00 per year, instead of $6,030.  Mexico' per capita income is around $14,000.00, instead of $9,890.00.  A lot of these numbers are off, by a lot:  GDP per capita (current US$) | Data (worldbank.org)

 

Thank you for the fact check!  I threw the list together hastily.

Wanna get this right - stay tuned.

 

[Bernard Gui]

2 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

I have plenty of favorable opinions of Catholics because of all the hospitals.   

Sounds like a match made in heaven.  They'll run the hospitals, and we'll crank out the medical people to fill them, and we'll all work together to keep that wonderful spiritual aspect associated with healthcare. 

I think just about 80% of the hospital care for my family, including births, have all been in places named Saint [Something].

Baptist hospitals here in Kentucky. Not sure what the Baptist Church has to do with them. 

[Okrahomer]

16 hours ago, 2BizE said:

Utah has a big need for another medical school.

I don’t think the focus will be on the State of Utah.  Per the U of U Statement:

”University leaders affirm that BYU’s internationally-focused health education plans complement University of Utah Health’s state-focused mission and offer new opportunities to serve growing health care needs locally and around the world.”

[LoudmouthMormon]

23 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

23 hours ago, Peppermint Patty said:

This list must be about 35 years old? South Korea's GDP per capita is over $33,000.00 per year, instead of $6,030.  Mexico' per capita income is around $14,000.00, instead of $9,890.00.  A lot of these numbers are off, by a lot:  GDP per capita (current US$) | Data (worldbank.org)

 

Thank you for the fact check!  I threw the list together hastily.

Wanna get this right - stay tuned.

Ok.  I've updated my chart, and found a few things:
- The average delta between my numbers and the worldbank's numbers is around 11%.   That's explained by 3-4 years of global inflation, so my numbers were about 3-4 years old. 
- My Korea numbers were probably someone's guess at North Korea, not South.  Absolutely an error on my part. 

Thanks again for pointing it out, @Peppermint Patty!

[longview]

On 7/29/2024 at 11:36 AM, Bernard Gui said:

Oh, good news indeed. And it’s a Very Good Thing that the Church hoarded all that ill-gotten cash. Med schools can be very expensive.

I was interested to note in the news release that the major focus will be on medical field work. NOT in setting up a chain of hospitals. This will enable greater effectiveness of service missionaries. Along the lines of "Doctors Without Borders" or similar organizations.