U.S. News & World Report ranks medical school fifth in nation The U.S. News and World Report has ranked the School of Medicine and Health Sciences as one of the best in the nation for its commitment to rural medicine. The ranking, released in the 2008 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News and World Report on newsstands this month, is based on results of a survey of medical school deans and senior faculty members at 125 U.S. medical schools. "This recognition reaffirms our role as a national leader in the education and training of physicians for rural practice," said H. David Wilson, dean of the medical school and vice president for health affairs at UND, "and our commitment to quality, accessible rural health care. We are pleased to be viewed as a model for how medical education and practice can best be carried out in a rural, sparsely populated state." The UND medical school offers medical students a third-year experience in rural communities through its Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) Program. Its faculty and staff also conduct research on rural health care issues. This is also a particular honor for the school's Rural Assistance Center (RAC), the only one in the entire nation, he said. Operated through the Center for Rural Health, RAC serves as an international clearinghouse for information on rural health issues; its personnel field requests from every state in the union and several foreign countries. In the Best Graduate Schools survey, the UND medical school ranked behind (in descending order from first-ranked) University of Washington, the University of New Mexico, East Tennessee State University and the University of Iowa. In past years, UND has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report, usually ranking in the top five in the area of rural medicine. The magazine also reported the rankings of the top medical schools in areas such as research and primary care, and demonstrated commitment to women's health, family medicine, AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, geriatrics, internal medicine and pediatrics. -- School of Medicine and Health Sciences.