The Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, which began classes Aug. 6, is enrolling an incoming class of 75 students this year. That number will increase to 100 students next year, before stabilizing at 125 incoming students in 2014.

“The school is becoming very well known for its excellence and its quality,” Dr. Robert Folberg, dean of the OUWB, said.

The school is partnering with other disciplines across campus and within the community in order to simulate a realistic patient care experience.

“We have medical students going out on home health visits with nursing students, kind of learning how to deliver coordinated care,” he said.

According to Folberg, WBSM has worked with Forgotten Harvest to not only create real-world experience, but volunteer work.

“When clients were out picking up their fresh fruits and vegetables, our medical students set up a free healthcare screening mini clinic in two locations,” Folberg said.

Research efforts are aided by the OU’s partnership with Beaumont Health System. The school uses BioBank, a facility dedicated to housing human tissue samples, and Beaumont’s Core Molecular and Genetics Laboratory for research on pressing medical issues.

Dr. David Felten, associate dean for research, said the affiliation with Beaumont enables the medical school to do some unique work.

Folberg’s vision of the school’s future includes hiring additional faculty, more partnerships and expand research.

“We’re really concentrating on the excellence of what we have and we’re not bringing anything online until we’re assured that what we are doing is absolutely cutting-edge and at the top of our potential,” he said.

Contact Senior Reporter Kevin Graham via email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @KevinGraham88