Looking Back – and Ahead – with Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine’s First Class
The Lerner College of Medicine welcomed its first cohort in 2004.
At the Olympic Games in Athens, American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight medals, tying a world record. A pair of NASA rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on Mars. And from a Harvard University dorm room, Mark Zuckerberg launched a website that would become the social media platform Facebook. Any way you look at it, 2004 was an eventful year.
Meanwhile, in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine opened on the health system’s main campus. A $100 million gift from Al and Norma Lernerestablished the college, a distinct program within the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
The Lerner College of Medicine makes its home in the Samson Pavilion on the Health Education Campus, a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic. | Photo: Don Gerda
Dedicated to training physician-investigators, CCLCM embraces a grade-free, competency-based assessment system with an emphasis on problem-based learning. The five-year curriculum devotes an entire year to research. Also worth noting: This was the first medical school in the nation to cover tuition with full scholarships (underwritten by Cleveland Clinic) for all students, starting in 2008.
CCLCM by the Numbers
468Medical Degrees Granted to Date
160Current Students
2,200+Applications Yearly for 32 Slots
On the following pages, you’ll meet three members of the college’s first graduating class: Aaron D. Viny, MD, MS; Renee Salas, MD, MPH, MS; and Sumit Sharma, MD. Twenty years after they started medical school, they reflect not only on their time at CCLCM, but where their journeys led from there. We also caught up with James Stoller, MD, MS, Chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Education Institute, to take the pulse of medical education overall in the 21st century. Read on — but don’t worry about taking notes. In true CCLCM fashion, there won’t be an exam.
Dr. Aaron D. Viny
Dr. Viny's fascination with medical science is personal. Learn more about how a leukemia diagnosis impacted his studies at CCLCM and beyond.
Dr. Renee Salas
Dr. Salas is proud to be a member of CCLCM's inaugural class. Read more about the path she took to become a leading expert on climate change's impact on health.
Dr. Sumit Sharma
For Dr. Sharma, the joy of learning took root at CCLCM. Learn more about how his education there influenced his work as a clinician, researcher and educator.
Different by Design
James Stoller, MD, MS, is Chair of the Education Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Check out this interview for his thoughts on the evolution of medical education and more.
