Each summer, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed), Western Michigan University (WMU), Beacon Health System, and Bronson Healthcare welcome a large cohort of new aspiring healthcare professionals to Kalamazoo.
Whether they are resident physicians, medical students, or pursuing a degree at WMU’s Bronson School of Nursing or College of Health and Human Services, the learners arrive ready to grow, ready to pursue their futures, and their collective impact on the communities we serve is significant and immediate.
In mid-June, the medical school welcomed more than 70 new resident physicians to its accredited residency training programs in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry. WMed also has fellowships that provide physicians with advanced training in Emergency Medical Services, Sports Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Forensic Pathology, and Medical Simulation.
Just two weeks after the new resident physicians arrived, 86 medical students in the Class of 2030 – WMed’s 13th class of aspiring physicians – arrived at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus to begin their journeys as future doctors.
On September 2, classes started for the 500 new and 1,400 returning WMU students pursuing undergraduate and advanced degrees in nursing, occupational therapy, physician assistant, speech-language pathology, social work, and several other programs within the College of Health and Human Services.
As the group of new learners – students and resident physicians – were welcomed to Kalamazoo, they became part of an educational mission in the community that extends well beyond the classroom as they begin learning alongside experienced physicians and healthcare teams at our local teaching hospitals Beacon Kalamazoo and Bronson Methodist Hospital.
“Kalamazoo has something special: two teaching hospitals, a comprehensive research university and a medical school supported by 1,300 employed and community faculty, all working together to improve lives,” said Russ Kavalhuna, president of WMU and chair of the WMed Board of Directors.
“When tomorrow’s doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals come here to learn, their impact doesn’t begin years from now. It begins immediately in our hospitals, our research and in the care patients receive.”
That is the power of academic medicine and of the extraordinary healthcare advancing patient well-being, innovative research and economic growth, Kavalhuna added.
“Academic medical centers and teaching hospitals have been associated with stronger patient outcomes, and one reason is that learners help keep all of us sharp,” said Bill Manns, president and CEO of Bronson Healthcare and a member of the WMed Board of Directors. “They ask thoughtful questions, push us to explain the ‘why’ behind clinical decisions, and encourage every member of the care team to stay current with the latest advances in medicine. That makes the learning environment valuable not only for the student, but also for the patient.”
Clinical experiences at the teaching hospitals, WMU Unified Clinics, WMed Health, and other affiliated sites give learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills while contributing to the care of patients and families.
For medical students, these experiences help shape their understanding of what it means to be a physician — not only through diagnosis and treatment, but also through communication, teamwork, compassion and service. For resident physicians, clinical training comes with increasing responsibility for patient care as they develop the skills needed to practice independently. Together, along with nurses, physician assistants, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers and other health professionals from WMU, they become an important part of the healthcare teams caring for patients in Kalamazoo.
“More than 260 residents and fellows are caring for patients in our hospitals, emergency rooms, surgical suites, and primary care clinics, said Kreg Gruber, chief executive officer of Beacon Health System and a member of the WMed Board of Directors. “Together with more than 900 students from the healthcare professions programs at WMU they provide an important source of coverage in the region, equivalent to approximately 1 million hours of patient care service annually for the medical community in Kalamazoo. Their contributions help support patient care across the region, improve patient flow, and expand access to care across the region.”
“And the value extends beyond the training years. A majority of students from WMU’s health professions programs stay here to work after graduation and from 2021 through 2025, more than 70 WMed resident physicians who trained locally were hired by Beacon Health, Bronson Healthcare, WMed, or within 50 miles of Kalamazoo, helping strengthen the local physician workforce and address the challenge of growing our healthcare teams in rural communities in the region,” said J. Adrian Tyndall, MD, MPH, FACEP, the Hal B. Jenson, MD Dean, President and CEO of WMed. “These graduates carry forward skills and values developed right here in Kalamazoo to continue serving patients and communities throughout Southwest Michigan.”
Training future doctors and the healthcare team is more important than ever, as the U.S. faces a shortage of between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians in all specialties at a time when the total population is continuing to grow and the number of Americans over the age of 65 increased by 41 percent, as of 2025.