5 Best Medical Schools in Tennessee

The best medical schools in Tennessee offer the best medical programs and clinical training in the medical and healthcare fields. 

These best medical institutions and research centers have a reputation for training the finest doctors and physicians who are highly professional in their specialties, compassionate, and more than willing to practice in rural and underserved communities. 

Keep reading to know these 5 best medical schools in Tennessee, the quality of these schools, rankings, curriculum, hospital affiliations, why you should study in Tennessee, and how to get accepted into medical school in Tennessee. 

5 Best Medical Schools in Tennessee

Why study In Tennessee

Tennessee is home to many growing industries, and international students in Tennessee have a wide range of opportunities for internships and temporary OPT/CPT opportunities. 

Health care, manufacturing, and automotive industry are some of the major industries in Tennessee located in major cities such as Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis. Other companies headquartered in Tennessee include Columbia/HCA Healthcare, Baker Donelson, Eastman Chemical, Autozone, Accurate Automation Corporation, Access American Transport, Federal Express, and BlueCross BlueShield.

The mild climate in Tennessee is another major reason you will want to be interested in studying in Tennessee. The temperature range is around 80 plus degrees in the summer and 40 degrees in the winter months, especially in Nashville, Tennessee. There are beautiful foliage and mild seasons in Tennessee.

Tennessee has a large public university or a small private college. These colleges and universities belong to a consortium of accredited educational institutions called Study Tennessee that offer thousands of programs to choose from. ESL Programs are also offered by these Study Tennessee institutions, WS well as numerous extracurricular programs including large universities, private colleges, and community and with 

Students who chose to study in Tennessee can benefit from exploring major cities like Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis. This includes the Crystal Shine Grotto in Memphis or the Meet Elvis at the Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge. During the state’s popular festivals, students can always find food and music festivals of all kinds throughout the year. 

Nashville is known as the home of country music in Tennessee and some music festivals include the Country Music Awards Music Festival, Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Nashville Film Festival. If rock and roll is your favorite type of music, there’s an Elvis Week festival hosted by Memphis every year.

How to get accepted into Medical school in Tennessee

Medical schools in Tennessee are very selective and competitive. The acceptance rate is 2%.

To get accepted into a medical school in Tennessee, incoming students are expected to have:

  1. High school diploma
  2. Excellent undergraduate GPA score
  3. Undergraduate degree in the field of Sciences (3-4 years)
  4. Good TOEFL language scores
  5. Minimum MCAT exam result (depends on the university individually)
  6. Extracurricular activities
  7. Letters of recommendation

During the admission process, students with experience providing medical care to the local community in Michigan or those who are able to show a strong commitment to serving patients in Michigan are highly considered.

You should also have completed internships, and/or had job experiences in the medical field, to increase your chances of getting accepted. You can choose to volunteer at a free clinic, or with a hospital service, as it is one of the best ways to show your commitment and passion for medicine.

For some medical work experiences, You can also be Paid while working with professors in reputable medical colleges in research. lab internships and assistantships vacancies may also be available to collaborate with other researchers on their projects or even do research on your own project.

Nurse assistant or nurse’s aide jobs are available for those who want to work directly with patients, at a hospital, local clinic, or any place where ill and sick people are treated.

Official letters of recommendation from your professors, employers, or people who can vouch for you are also required.

It is necessary that the recommendation letter comes from a current or previous employer who can vouch for your work ethic. This will enable the admissions committee to determine how committed and strong-willed you are to study medicine. 

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Official letters of recommendation can be submitted either through email with the rest of your application materials or mailed directly.

5 Best Medical Schools in Tennessee

  1. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (Nashville, TN)
  2. Lincoln Memorial University Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (Harrogate, TN)
  3. East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine (Johnson City, TN)
  4. University of Tennessee College of Medicine (Memphis, TN)
  5. Meharry Medical College (Nashville, TN)

1. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (Nashville, TN)

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is a graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University located in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the southeastern side of the Vanderbilt University campus. It is first on our list of best medical schools in Tennessee. 

US News & World Report ranks it #13 top 20 medical schools for research and primary care nationwide. Vanderbilt offers a 13-month preclinical curriculum that focuses on an individualized training program, after which medical students begin clerkships, clinical rotations, and research projects. There’s a world-class faculty to teach and mentor medical students as well as easy access to ample research and hands-on, clinical opportunities. A new student-run organization has been recently launched to address the growing needs of rural medicine and practice. 

Most renowned programs at the college of medicine include Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and radiology. There are fully equipped facilities and lots of fruitful opportunities for incoming students who are admitted to Vanderbilt. Second-year students also start six core clerkships at the medical center to develop their clinical competency.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is affiliated with the Vanderbilt Medical Center, a highly acclaimed teaching hospital where many clinicians from the VUSM faculty work. The Vanderbilt Medical Center is another of the school’s Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment. There are over 60 hospitals affiliations and 5,000 clinicians across Tennessee and five neighboring states, with more than 2 million patient visits managed each year. It is the main resource for specialty and primary care in hundreds of adult and pediatric programs for patients throughout the Mid-South. It is also the largest academic medical center in the U. S. 

In Fall 2020, the school received over applications! Out of this vast pool of competitive applicants, only.

Admission into Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is quite selective. A total of 5,000 applications were received by the admissions committee for Fall 2020, and only 96 were matriculated.

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2. Lincoln Memorial University Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (Harrogate, TN)

Debusk College of Osteopathic medicine (LMU-DCOM) is the medical school of Lincoln Memorial University.  Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university located in Harrogate, Tennessee. The school’s 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) campus borders Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine is one of the best medical schools in Tennessee with a solid commitment to training competent and passionate doctors who can provide quality health care services to medically underserved communities. 

US News & World Report ranks LMU-DCOM as one of the top ten schools in the U.S, for the number of graduates practicing in underserved and rural areas. The school is ranked #23 with the University of New England for a high number of graduates practicing in primary care fields.

LMU-DCOM is committed to training professional and compassionate health care professionals and patient-centered care. The school’s innovative curriculum combines foundational knowledge and clinical experience. In the first and second year, students are trained in the pre-clinical sciences, while the remaining two years involve rigorous, clinical rotations at hospitals and medical centers throughout Tennessee and the South, including Florida.

Debusk College of Osteopathic medicine has one of the highest post-graduate placement rates, and this success in training and graduating more doctors and health care professionals have been consistent over the years.  72% of the graduating class of 2020 entered their first year of primary care track residency training throughout the United States and 96% got into postgraduate training programs. 

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3. East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine (Johnson City, TN)

The James H. Quillen College of Medicine is a medical school of East Tennessee State University, located in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Like other medical schools in Tennessee, Quillen College of Medicine is ranked #3 among the medical schools with a high number of graduates providing primary care services in medically underserved areas, especially rural areas. Hence, it’s one of the ideal medical schools for aspiring medical doctors and physicians who is passionate about medicine. 

James H. Quillen College of Medicine is one of two public medical schools in Tennessee. The second public medical school is the University of Tennessee College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Its motto is “Chances are we’ve touched your life.” According to the latest US News & World Report rankings, Quillen is ranked #64 with the University of Missouri-Kansas City among the top 100 medical schools for primary care. 

Quillen focuses primarily on rural medicine and offers a Rural Primary Care track and an Appalachian Preceptorship program that trains medical students to become highly trained physicians who are competent in delivering high-quality care to rural communities. There are also state-of-the-art facilities and equipment which includes a Simulation Lab various for medical simulation training programs. 

Quillen operates a small class size. In the first two years, students on the  Rural Primary Care track program gain hands-on experience in patient care and then work as part of an interprofessional team consisting of doctors, physicians, and students from the other med schools within the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center. 

The third and fourth years involve clerkships and a clinical rotation in an underserved community in Tennessee. fourth-year students get to be guided by their instructors when they begin to diagnose and manage patients during their clinical rotation.

Admission into East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine is quite selective. A total of 3,099 applications were received by the admissions committee for Fall 2021, and only 109 applicants were offered acceptance into the M.D program.

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4. University of Tennessee College of Medicine (Memphis, TN)

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine is the oldest public medical school in Tennessee and one of six graduate schools of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) located in downtown Memphis. It is one of the best medical schools in Tennessee in terms of primary care. 

The UT College of Medicine has LCME-accreditation and is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Graduates of the four-year program are awarded the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. The college’s main focus is providing practicing medical doctors and physicians for the state of Tennessee. US News & World Report ranks the UT College of Medicine #80 in terms of top programs in the primary care specialty. 

UT College of Medicine is also ranked among the medical schools with a high number of graduates providing primary care services in medically underserved areas, especially rural areas. This outstanding medical school is a top study destination for any aspiring health practitioner who is passionate about medicine.

UTHSC College of Medicine offers a rigorous curriculum and world-class training facilities. It is the largest medical school in Tennessee, with the Memphis campus having over 25 departments and 84 graduate training programs. There’s also the world’s first Mobile Stroke Unit, which is equipped with innovative technology, including non-invasive CT-angiography for imaging the arteries and advanced imaging for stroke diagnosis. 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently awarded UTHSC a $4.5 million grant to work together with primary care providers and researchers in developing and implementing superb health care and improving the treatments options for cardiovascular patients.

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Medical students at UT College of Medicine are open to many service-learning opportunities as well as health-related, community concerns and issues. This makes sure that the students’ services correspond with the most pressing needs. Other Perennially top service-learning projects at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine include the NMF Primary Care Leadership Program and Clinica Esperanza.

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5. Meharry Medical College (Nashville, TN)

Meharry Medical College is a private black medical school founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College. It is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and was the first medical school for African Americans in the South. 

In Nashville, you’ll find many renowned medical research and healthcare centers in the U.S, for aspiring medical doctors and physicians can benefit from this setting. Meharry Medical College is one of the best medical schools in Nashville, with a boastful legacy and achievement record. It prides itself as one of the oldest, historically black institutions in the U.S,  established less than a decade after the Civil War! 

The school’s motto is “Worship of God Through Service to Mankind”, which signifies its commitment to social justice and humanity’s well-being, in alignment with the United Methodist Church which the medical college is affiliated.

Meharry recently partnered with Tennessee State University to train greater numbers of African American doctors who are willing to serve our, minority communities in Tennessee.

The school keeps true to its mission of providing high-quality care to those who need it the most, delivering a cutting-edge education in medicine. Meharry’s research program includes the Center for the Study of the Social Determinants of Health, clinical research in sickle cell anemia, and healthcare education.

US News & World Report ranks Meharry #12 top medical school in the U. S for the number of graduates in the primary care profession, the number of graduates practicing in rural areas, and most graduates practicing in medically underserved areas.

Notable alumni who have benefited from Meharry Medical College’s exception curriculum and training include Corey Hébert, the Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent for Black News Channel, and Donna P. David, CEO of Community Health TV. 

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Conclusion

And that’s it. Everything important information you need to know on the 5 best medical schools in Tennessee. 

These schools have professional doctors and physicians who are compassionate, and willing to practice in rural and underserved communities. Medical schools in Tennessee offer the best medical programs and clinical training for aspiring doctors looking to make a huge difference in the medical field. 

FAQs on the Best Medical Schools In Tennessee

What is the number 1 medical school in Tennessee?

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is a graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University located in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the southeastern side of the Vanderbilt University campus. 
There’s a world-class faculty to teach and mentor medical students as well as easy access to ample research and hands-on, clinical opportunities. Most renowned programs at the college of medicine include Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and radiology. There are fully equipped facilities and lots of fruitful opportunities for incoming students who are admitted to Vanderbilt. Second-year students also start six core clerkships at the medical center to develop their clinical competency.

How many medical schools are in Tennessee?

There are a total of five medical schools in Tennesee.

What Medical school has the best M.D program in Tennessee?

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine offers an outstanding medical program in Tennessee.
The 13-month preclinical curriculum focuses on an individualized training program, after which medical students begin clerkships, clinical rotations, and research projects.

Does Meharry Medical college require CASPer?

Meharry Medical College requires all applicants to take CASPer before their interview. The CASPer score will be made available 3 weeks after the test date.

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