Eastern Virginia Medical School

Eastern Virginia Medical School commonly referred to as EVMS, in Norfolk, Virginia, United States is a public-private medical school founded by grassroots efforts in the southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads. Unlike the other public medical schools in Virginia, EVMS is not affiliated with an undergraduate institution and coordinates training through multiple medical centers in the Hampton Roads region. The school is dedicated solely to graduate biomedical and health education. EVMS campus includes the 555-bed Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region's only tertiary level 1 trauma medical care facility, and the 212-bed Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a regional pediatric referral care facility and only stand-alone children's hospital in the state. EVMS is the first institution in the US to have produced a viable fetus through in vitro fertilization. EVMS is most known for its reproductive medicine, simulation/standardized-patient education as well as research in pediatrics, geriatrics, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, EVMS is well known for its leadership in community service and medical missions, as evidenced by faculty and alumni responsible for the founding of Operation Smile, Physicians for Peace, Global Brigades, and CONRAD.HistoryIn 1824, Thomas Jefferson remarked that Norfolk would be an ideal location for a medical school branch of his alma mater, The College of William & Mary, albeit for its less than desirable climate. He wrote “No sir, Richmond is no place to furnish subjects for clinical lectures. I have always had Norfolk in view for this purpose. The climate and Pontine country around Norfolk render it truly sickly in itself.” However, this early conception would not come to fruition.