The Brody Difference | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services. The author of this post is Rob Spahr.


Brody School of Medicine graduate Dr. Jon Kornegay helped to lead health care delivery efforts in the rural Duplin County after flooding and destruction from Hurricane Florence in 2018 blocked roads and knocked out power at Vidant Duplin Hospital. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
    For nearly a half century, the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University has been fulfilling its three-fold promise to North Carolina to increase the number of primary care physicians who serve the state, improve the health status of eastern North Carolina and enhance the access to a medical education for minority and disadvantaged students.

    The school, which only accepts North Carolina residents, consistently ranks in the top 10% nationally for medical schools that produce physicians who practice in-state, in primary care and in underserved areas.

    Brody leads the state in the percentage of its graduates who practice in North Carolina, as more than 50% of its nearly 2,400 alumni practice in state. The school was also ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2022 as the ninth "Most Diverse Medical School" in the nation.

    Additionally, Brody provides an affordable medical education that enables alumni enter the workforce with an average graduate debt that is $50,000 less than students from other medical schools.

    "The Brody School Medicine, in my opinion, is the highest value medical school in the nation. And that is very intentional," said Dr. Mike Waldrum, Brody's dean and CEO of ECU Health. "Our mission is to train North Carolinians to care for North Carolinians and to be well equipped to address the complex health challenges facing the residents of our state, particularly those in rural and underserved communities. When our students graduate, they are very highly trained and also have more financial flexibility, so they are able to pursue literally any career path of their choice. And the data consistently shows that a majority choose to stay in North Carolina, choose to practice primary care and choose to serve in communities where they are needed most."

    However, the tireless support from dedicated faculty and the lower tuition costs are only a portion of the equation. It also takes talented, service-minded individuals to first decide to pursue a career in medicine and then make the choice to practice in communities with a higher prevalence of significant health care challenges and far fewer resources available to help address those challenges.

    Across the "Tar Heel State," Brody graduate are showing what makes them - and their alma mater - special.

    Learn more about some of Brody's alumni who are practicing in underserved communities across the state and who credit the school with providing them the opportunity to follow their calling.