Mainebiz

June 30, 2025

Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1536891

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 14 of 27

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 J U N E 3 0 , 2 0 2 5 F O C U S H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N / P RO F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T simulcasting to other parts of the building, including giant screens in a 240-seat lecture hall. at's just one example of the advanced technology that will "allow communication interaction between every single room in the building," Carreiro notes. e building was designed by Portland-based SMRT Architects & Engineers, whose education portfolio also includes a residence hall and student center at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, and the Factory of the Future under construction at the University of Maine in Orono. UNE's new medical school build- ing includes 20 rooms – double the previous amount in Biddeford -- for practice exams with people who are paid to play the role of patients. Four of the rooms, which simulate real fam- ily practices, can be transformed into in-patient hospital rooms. "is is a game changer," says Sarah Starbird, a retired physician assistant who recently started as a standardized patient at UNE and lives within walking distance of its Portland campus. "e technology is phenomenal." While standardized patients had to "kind of sneak around the back door" in Biddeford, the new building is much more professional, Starbird says. "You're in the throes of this medical energy." Another big change made possible by the move is the placement of labs for slicing and cutting up cadavers on an airy top floor rather than a window- less basement. In the new location, there are windows to provide natural light for the space and rooftop venti- lation for better air flow. e building was also designed to ensure greater privacy – and respect – for medical donors, SMRT's Nick Vaughn says: "It's not a situation where gurneys are being pushed through," he explains. "It's something the university is very sensitive to." Medical matchmaking After freshly minted doctors gradu- ate from UNE, more than half go into primary care fields and four out of 10 establish their practices in rural areas. In 2025, 97% of 165 graduates were matched to residencies, exceeding both the 93.5% national average for both medical doc- tors and 92.6% for DOs. "Our students compete head-to- head with other students from every medical school in the country for resi- dency slots," Herbert says. "e good news is we do extraordinarily well." Among recently matched gradu- ates, Bethany Miles will spend the next four years in MaineHealth's psychiatry residency program, start- ing with two years at Maine Medical Center in Portland and then two years in the midcoast region. She looks forward to the experience though admits to being "kind of jealous" she won't get to experience UNE's new building. Noting that medical school is a "big, scary under- taking" with lots of ups and downs, she urges new and aspiring students to always "hold onto your reason why, especially during the downs." To keep more medical grads in Maine, UNE is working with hos- pitals across the state as well as the Legislature to create more training opportunities for students and more residency slots. "Maine does not have a shortage of medical students," Hebert says. "It has a shortage of clinical training opportunities and residencies." e gap exists statewide, with 13 of Maine's 16 counties designated as health professional shortage areas with 3,500 or more patients for every provider. Low-income residents are also disproportionately affected by the lack of doctors. As Dawson Turcotte gets ready to start his second year of medical school at UNE following a summer research internship in New Hampshire, he has a rural practice in sight. "I grew up in Skowhegan, so I can imagine myself ending up either there or at least in the central Maine area," he says. "It's home, and I owe my state something. I want to give back." Renee Cordes, Mainebiz deputy editor, can be reached at rcordes @ mainebiz.biz We are not trying to be a 'mini' anything, including Harvard Medical School. — James Herbert UNE president P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y O F U N E P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y O F U N E

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Mainebiz - June 30, 2025