At the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, our commitment to teaching patient-centered medicine underpins all that we do, and it begins with our name. Frank H. Netter, MD, was a physician and famed medical illustrator whose anatomy drawings became a staple of medical education because of their detail and sense of humanity.
As an educational institution that deeply values diversity of thought and experience, we believe in collaborative, inclusive scholarship. Our curriculum emphasizes early clinical exposure and is strengthened through our network of community hospitals and healthcare providers. You will experience a variety of clinical work placements that will help strengthen your emerging skills and determine where you see yourself practicing medicine during residency. We believe in educating future physicians who not only treat the communities they serve, but also reflect them. As part of this transformative medical education, you will design and complete a four-year capstone project under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Dean of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
As dean, I am honored to lead Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine through its next phase of growth − especially at this pivotal juncture in health care. Our primary mission is to educate and nurture future generations of diverse, compassionate, and humanistic physicians who promote wellness and patient-centered care for all members of society. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscores the critical importance of this mission.
Our school’s commitment to fostering humanism in medicine is rooted in the art of our namesake, Frank H. Netter, MD. His renowned anatomical illustrations and paintings were crafted with a striking level of empathy and humanity and have inspired generations of healthcare professionals.
Dr. Netter humanely illustrated disease processes as life challenges faced by individual patients. As his art pays respect to the complexity and diversity of patients, so, too, does our innovative medical education curriculum, with its emphasis on patient-centered care. This model of care is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values.
Our focus on humanistic medicine also challenges us to think more broadly about the health and well-being of patients and their communities, especially those who are most vulnerable. Thus, we are committed to addressing the social determinants of health and to fostering equitable health care for all communities.
This tremendous undertaking cannot be accomplished alone. Indeed, health care is a “team sport” that requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. At Netter, this interprofessional philosophy is seamlessly woven into our curriculum.
Housed inside the Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences building, our collaborative learning environment fosters interprofessional health care education and team-based practice. Through hallways lined with Dr. Netter’s drawings, our medical students walk alongside future nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, social workers, medical imaging specialists and our other colleagues in the health professions.
We also understand that the quality of care we provide to our patients is linked to the health and well-being of the providers. As such, Netter provides a student-centered medical education program in which learners develop the skills and habits of practice that promote their own well-being.
Ours is a diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, staff and clinical partners united by our collective passion for advancing the health and well-being of local and global communities. Together, in the spirit of innovation and humanism, we are reimagining medical education in pursuit of painting a brighter health care future for all. I hope that you will join us in this exciting endeavor!
U. S. News & World Report
U. S. News & World Report
U. S. News & World Report
In an effort to offset rising student loan debt, Bill and Barbara Weldon, both members of the Class of 1971, have launched a $5 million matching gift campaign. Their transformative gift is offered as a 1:1 match to encourage other donors to give, and by doing so, the campaign will raise $10 million in support of medical student scholarships.
The Weldons hope others will join them in funding need-based scholarships to increase access to Quinnipiac Netter, especially for students pursuing careers in primary and rural care. The future of medical education in Connecticut and beyond depends on it, according to Bill Weldon, who was chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson from 2002-2012, and Barbara Weldon, whose father was a physician.
According to The American Journal of Medicine, “In 2024, only 24.4% of U.S. physicians are in the primary care specialties of Family Practice, General Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, while 50% is considered the ideal ratio.”
At the same time, the Weldons understand a shortage of general practitioners is only part of the challenge in enabling access to healthcare. The financial commitment that’s required to become a physician is also a critical driver of the challenge — and very often, the biggest impediment to assuring healthcare coverage in all communities.
They recently visited campus to see the what’s happening on the ground, campuses that are thriving, continuing to grow and excel in Hamden and North Haven. While so much has changed since the Weldons first walked the Quad, the bold vision continues to distinguish the university.
More than 50 years later, Quinnipiac College — the name in 1971, and Quinnipiac University, our name since 2000, share a legacy of community. Roommates, classmates, alumni and friends still gather here — as beneficiaries of an ambitious promise that’s nearly a century old.
We have intentionally designed our MD program to provide the foundational skills that you will need as a physician, in settings that mimic the places you will work once you’ve begun your career. Our full-time faculty will make your education their top priority. Our affiliated, partnering faculty will introduce you — across a range of clinical locations — to best practices and a diversity of patient populations.
From our interprofessional learning environment on the North Haven Campus to our team-oriented curriculum and classrooms, we encourage the kind of collaboration that is becoming an important hallmark of good medical care.
Every part of our program supports our vision of educating patient‐centered physicians who are effective partners and leaders in the delivery of health care in the communities they serve.
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Painting a Brighter Healthcare Future for All articulates our intent to continue our journey of excellence in medical education while expanding our educational footprint, cultivating scholarship, and deepening and broadening our commitment to caring for our internal and external communities. We are excited to enter this next chapter of our growth and development, and we look forward to having all members of our community join us on this journey as we boldly paint a brighter future, together.
The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine will be a vibrant health care community that educates and nurtures diverse, compassionate physicians who promote wellness and patient-centered care for all members of society.
The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine is dedicated to educating current and future physicians to serve our community, as well as our profession. We accomplish this goal in a student-centered, collaborative environment that values compassionate care, integrity and inclusivity, academic excellence and scholarship, adaptability and social responsibility.
Primary Care Education: providing education focused on partnering with patients to promote health as well as first-line care and chronic disease management.
Personal and Professional Integrity: achieving our highest potential as humans and healers by consistently acting with honesty and in accordance with strong moral values.
Academic Excellence: creating a stimulating, student-centered environment that supports both learners and faculty to excel in their scholastic activities.
Inclusiveness and Diversity: reflected in our students, faculty and staff and their respect of all people.
Compassion and Patient-Centeredness: putting the patient at the center of the healthcare experience.
Social Justice: seeking to address healthcare inequalities both locally and globally and provide all patients with equal access to care.
Scholarship: advancing the field of medicine by promoting discovery, application, integration and dissemination of knowledge throughout one’s career.
Interprofessional Collaboration: promoting teamwork between disciplines and across institutions to deliver high-quality care.
Community Partnership: developing learning and service opportunities that improve the health of our community.
Social Responsibility: advocating to improve the broader determinants of health in the setting of finite resources
The School of Medicine is named in honor of Frank H. Netter, MD, a surgeon and prolific medical illustrator whose “Atlas of Human Anatomy” has been translated into a dozen languages and is widely used by undergraduate medical students. With his rare combination of artistic talent and perspective as a physician, Netter brought his subject matter to life with stunning precision and clarity. He illustrated cutting‐edge medical advancements ranging from organ transplants and joint replacements to the first artificial heart. His work granted unprecedented visual access to human anatomy and pathology — and was done with a striking level of empathy and humanity.
Known as “Medicine’s Michaelangelo,” Netter’s educational legacy extends beyond his life work to the School of Medicine through a major gift from Barbara and the late Edward Netter, Frank Netter’s first cousin.
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