Campbell considers osteopathic medicine college

Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are fully licensed to practice the full scope of medicine in all medical specialties. But historically, DOs have had a special commitment to providing primary care. They account for 10 percent of the nation’s primary care physicians. 

Regardless of whether they become primary care practitioners or pursue another medical specialty, we believe that graduates of osteopathic medical colleges are better physicians because of the strong primary care foundation they received while in medical school. The special educational experiences offered at osteopathic medical colleges emphasize close physician-patient relationships, a whole-person orientation, and a strong focus on health promotion and disease prevention—all qualities that contribute to good health, regardless of physician specialty. 

There are plenty of aspiring physicians to fill new medical schools. Colleges of osteopathic medicine will open their doors to more than 5,400 first-year students this fall. And, the number of applicants to osteopathic medical schools is growing exponentially, from 6,814 in 2003 to more than 13,300 for the 2011 entering class (a 95 percent increase). Finally, these are excellent students; both their Medical College Admissions Test scores and their GPAs are strong, and have been steadily increasing during the same period of rapid growth. 

Today, more than 20 percent of new U.S. medical students are studying in an osteopathic medical school. 

There is no doubt that the nation requires more physicians—during the recent health reform dialogue, projected physician shortages were raised again and again as a reason for encouraging more students to consider health care careers, and particularly primary care careers. Like the country’s allopathic (MD) medical schools, osteopathic medical colleges are helping to fill a critical national health care need.

UNC-CH and ECU are expanding their class sizes.  New MD and DO schools are popping up like mushrooms across the eastern seaboard.  This all raises two questions:  1)  where are the students going to come from?  Failure rates are increasing at both UNC and ECU and will increase more as the schools go deeper into their applicant pool (really only one pool for both schools); 2)  where will the graduates go?  Graduates of both osteo and allopathic schools go into residency (graduate medical education) to continue and complete their education and gain board certification.  Those slots are declining while the number of graduates are going up.  So far that has meant displacement of FMGs, graduates from foreign medical schools, but there is beginning to be difficulty placing bottom students from the graduating classes.  All DO and MD grads and FMGs have to take the same tests, Step 1 and Step 2, for licensing.  Residency directors see a US graduate who has struggled and an FMG with really good scores and are choosing to fill out their slots with a couple of FMGs.

Campbell may be about 10 years too late to start on this.  Of course they can set standards below UNC and ECU, charge a whole bunch of money, and then let the grads loose to sink or swim.