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Mission and History
Who We Are
An affiliate of the Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of the Partners HealthCare System, the MGH Institute is an interdisciplinary graduate school that prepares skilled health care specialists in:- Clinical investigation
- Medical Imaging
- Nursing
- Physical Therapy
- Speech-Language Pathology
Where We Are
The MGH Institute is located in the Catherine Filene Shouse Building in the historic Charlestown Navy Yard. Originally built as the joiner's shop in 1866, the Shouse Building underwent a complete interior renovation in 2001. The building also houses The Children's Quarters, which offers kindergarten and preschool daycare to staff and students of the Institute, as well as to the Charlestown community. The Institute is convenient to points throughout the Boston area.Mission Statement
The Institute educates health care professionals to become leaders in their disciplines. The mission includes fostering an interdisciplinary and diverse educational community by:- Integrating academic and clinical curricula
- Expanding and refining the scientific basis for health care through teaching, research and scholarship
- Developing innovative educational approaches
- Contributing to new models of practice to foster effective, affordable and ethical health care.
Statement on Diversity
The MGH Institute is deeply committed to increasing the representation of diverse groups on its board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and students. We envision a community that is bound by the desire for equal consideration of all people.
We value, affirm, and respect the many individual differences each of us brings to the Institute. Our community strives to reflect the multicultural, multiethnic, and pluralistic composition of local, national, and international populations. The Institute's curricula prepare culturally competent health care providers.
Our commitment to the philosophy and value of diversity is evidenced by active recruitment and retention. Academic and administrative policies, procedures, and practices promote a supportive environment that welcomes, affirms, and respects each individual. Accountability for implementation of this statement rests with the Institute leadership and is the shared responsibility of the entire Institute community.
History
The MGH Institute was created over a quarter of a century ago to address the need for master clinicians, leaders in the health care professions molded by the integration of theory and clinical practice in an interdisciplinary environment.The Massachusetts General Hospital commitment to world-class patient care, education and research has long extended beyond their affiliation with the Harvard Medical School into the broader scope of other health professions. The MGH School of Nursing, founded in 1873, was closed in 1981 to focus on the education of advanced practice health professionals.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts awarded the MGH degree-granting authority in 1977, despite objections from other universities to the innovative concept of a hospital granting degrees. The MGH was initially authorized to grant the Master of Science degree in physical therapy, nursing, speech-language pathology and dietetics and the Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory therapy and radiologic technology, though the Institute has never offered bachelor degrees. Later amendments have approved additional degree and certificate programs.
The MGH renamed its original educational division as the MGH Institute of Health Professions in 1980 and the first students were admitted. The first degree, a Master of Science in Physical Therapy, was granted in 1983. In 1982, the Institute admitted students to the direct-entry masters program in nursing, one of the first to enroll baccalaureate prepared individuals with no prior experience or education in nursing.
The Institute became a separate corporation in 1985, with its own board of trustees, though it remains an MGH affiliate. In 1994, MGH joined Brigham and Women's Hospital to found the Partners HealthCare System, now one of the most highly regarded integrated health care systems in the country, the largest in New England, and Massachusetts' largest employer.
At the Institute, academic offerings have changed in response to the health care environment. Some programs have closed -- social work and dietetics -- while many new ones have been created. Students were first admitted to the Graduate Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 1991 and to the entry-level physical therapy program in 1995. The Graduate Program in Clinical Investigation was developed in 1997 and the Doctor of Physical Therapy in 1999, when the first online courses were also offered.
The alumni association was founded in 1997 and now numbers more than 2,500 members worldwide. The MGH Institute celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2002 with the dedication of the Catherine Filene Shouse Building, its new home in the Charlestown Navy Yard.