Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, is one of the world’s largest medical centers. Staff physicians care for clinic patients through an integrated group practice of medicine. A 12-member board of governors, which functions through several committees, administers the clinic. The clinic has thousands of physicians and medical scientists on its staff. Hundreds of younger doctors assist the staff of the Mayo Clinic as part of their residency training in medical and surgical specialties.
William Worrall Mayo and his sons, William James and Charles Horace Mayo, began their team practice in 1889 as staff physicians for St. Marys Hospital. Their successes in surgery became widely recognized, and the number of physicians on their staff gradually increased. In 1914, the brothers built their own medical center. The Mayo Clinic now registers hundreds of thousands of patients a year. The clinic has cared for millions of patients since 1907. In 1986, the Mayo Clinic merged with St. Marys Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital, both in Rochester. The Mayo Clinic also operates clinics in Jacksonville, Florida, and Scottsdale, Arizona.