At Wake Forest School of Medicine, education occurs in many places in addition to the classroom. It happens everywhere, all the time. Students attend classes in Innovation Quarter and the Winston-Salem Campus, as well as gain practical experience in various clinics and laboratories. Our technology has enabled education programs to provide distance-learning options, including a satellite Physician Assistant Studies program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, and an online Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

Biotech Place, the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education and 525@vine, which house our undergraduate medical education (MD) program, nurse anesthesia (CRNA) program, physician assistant (PA) program, and some of our graduate school programs (e.g., biomedical engineering, microbiology and immunology, molecular medicine, cardiovascular sciences and biochemistry) were designed with the next generation of health care leaders in mind. The buildings, once part of a former tobacco plant, offer an advanced environment in which to learn. Students have access to the latest technologies and advancements, including:

  • Tiered Classrooms
  • Clinical Skills Labs
  • Patient Simulation Suites
  • Student Resource Center

  • Anatomical Resource Clinical Training Center

Advanced curricula fuel our educational programs, emphasizing knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism. The Center for Experiential and Applied Learning enables and encourages collaboration in simulated real-world scenarios and allows students to practice clinical skills earlier in their education.

Center for Experiential and Applied Learning

The Center for Experiential and Applied Learning (CEAL) brings together a variety of resources at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Innovation Quarter to create a center for shared learning among professionals.

Beyond the Classroom

Students gain practical experience in a number of locations, and thanks to all the sites affiliated with Wake Forest School of Medicine and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, students have a wide range of options for electives, rotations, clerkships and more. In addition to the Winston-Salem Campus, which includes Brenner Children’s Hospital, electives and rotations take place at affiliate and outpatient facilities such as the Downtown Health Plaza; Lexington, Davie and Wilkes medical centers; Veterans Affairs centers in Kernersville and Salisbury; and more. This provides WFSM students with more opportunities, especially in such popular fields as surgery, pediatrics and rehabilitation. For example, fourth-year MD students have more than 100 types of rotations to choose from.

Students also run the Delivering Equal Access to Care Clinic, a free clinic for those who cannot afford health insurance and do not qualify for government assistance. (All patients are financially screened.)

The DEAC Clinic goes beyond most other student-run clinics by providing long-term continuity of care for its patients. Because it offers free services, students perform many tasks they could not do in a hospital. They check in patients, conduct triage, draw blood, run the lab, examine patients, develop care plans and write notes.