Home > Prospective Students > Messages from the Deans > Peter J. Deckers, M.D.

Peter J. Deckers, M.D.

Dean, School of Medicine

Executive Vice President for Health Affairs

The information provided on this web site reflects the opinion of the people who are the primary focus of our endeavors, specifically our students. We asked them to tell us, from their unique perspective as enrolled students, about the kind of information they considered useful to people who were giving thought to applying to the school.

Our in-house consultants told us that if they were applying to UConn now, they would most appreciate hearing about the experiences of enrolled students. What prompted them to apply to UConn, and then to matriculate? Are they glad they did? Do they believe the School is preparing them well for their careers in medicine? In what way, if any, would they improve the School? Do they feel as though they are central or peripheral figures in the activities of an academic health center? Are their interactions with faculty positive? What kind of intellectual and social environment exists at UConn? How do the students interact with each other and with the rest of the Health Center family?

Several students answered questions like these honestly and thoughtfully. You won’t find the answers to all of your questions, but you will find the answers to a great many throughout the web site.

You also should develop a clear impression of the School of Medicine as one with a culture of its own. In particular, you will find that it is a student oriented culture.

Indeed, students who were enrolled in the school during the early 1990s played a prominent role in shaping our new curriculum, which took effect in 1995. We asked them how the curriculum could be improved, we listened to their advice, and we used them to test some of our new concepts before we adopted them.

Our new curriculum emphasizes Problem-Based Learning, chronic care, ambulatory experiences, disease prevention, rehabilitation, problems of aging, and public health issues. It seeks to integrate basic science and clinical concepts throughout all four years of the educational process. It attempts to create a physician who is not only skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of disease but who can communicate with patients and is highly selective and efficient in the use of diagnostic tests, as well as informed and sensitive about ethical issues in medicine.

In short, our new curriculum is aimed at educating the new physician. These are the doctors whose training will enable them to prosper in a field that has changed dramatically in recent years. These are the doctors whose training will help them adapt and thrive in the face of further, inevitable changes in health care. They are doctors who are consummate medical professionals. We are proud of what we have accomplished at UConn.

We think our school will serve you well whether you embark upon a career in clinical medicine, biomedical research, or teaching.

We invite you to visit us and experience the Health Center and the UConn family firsthand.