Building a Dream Team to Change Medical Education in Southern Nevada
Meet Dr. Pedro “Joe” Greer
Founding Dean
One of the best kept secrets in Summerlin might just be Roseman University College of Medicine. Located off Town Center Dr. and the 215 Beltway, Roseman University’s current mission is to build a 21st century medical school with a curriculum that trains doctors to care for the entire person, family, and household.
Leading that charge is Cuban-American Dr. Pedro “Joe” Greer, Jr., a recent transplant to Las Vegas from Miami, where he was most recently Associate Dean and Chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Among Dr. Greer’s many significant accolades and achievements is the fact that he is one of only three Americans who have received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.
According to Dr. Greer, who brought with him an all-star team of six PhDs and MDs from Miami to Vegas to shape the Roseman University College of Medicine, the goal is to raise the bar on educating healthcare professionals, to challenge traditional healthcare education, and to ensure future doctors are better prepared to holistically and more successfully treat their patients.
With a larger-than-life personality and a clear vision of improving healthcare in Southern Nevada, particularly in underserved areas of our community, Dr. Greer, a liver disease specialist by training, isn’t quiet about his plans or his incredible team – which he unabashedly describes as a brain trust committed to improving healthcare in their newly adopted city. He describes them as a team committed to preparing future doctors to be socially accountable, humble and advocate for patients and the community large.
“Social determinants of health are the real causes of health issues,” said Dr. Greer. “Your zip code is more important than your DNA to predict mortality and morbidity. Our doctors need to understand that and shift their focus to the whole person and the whole family because it’s the household that most influences individual health. We must train our doctors to first ask, ‘what is your most pressing need,’ not ‘how do you feel.’”
In future blogs, you’ll have an opportunity to meet Dr. Greer’s Roseman Dream Team, a group which Dr. Greer brought from Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and a group that is also reflective of Southern Nevada demographics and the changing face of medicine.
According to Dr. Greer, four of the six are women and three of the six are African American. “Our doctors should reflect the communities they serve. We couldn’t be prouder of our diverse team members who are each exceptional in their respective fields. Together, we are working to change and improve medical education in Southern Nevada forever.”
