Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine gained attention from health professionals around the world through a recent publication.
As a part of the Blue Ribbon Commission for the advancement of osteopathic medical education, Kenneth Johnson, dean of OU-HCOM, and other leaders in osteopathic education worked with Stephen Shannon, president and CEO of the American Association of the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, to publish an article of recommendations on how to educate primary-care physicians in the future.
The article in Health Affairs specifically draws from OU-HCOM’s experiences in educating primary-care physicians.
“(Health Affairs is) a real key journal, and it focuses on the most prominent issues in how we deliver health care today,” Johnson said.
Some medical students have been shying away from primary-care training because primary-care physicians initially make less than other specialists do, so they spend more time in medical school debt, said Boyd Buser, dean at University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The article focuses on five principles: a focus on how a primary-care physician works within a community, advancing students based on competency in subjects of osteopathic medicine, increasing clinical experience, expanding the diversity in practical experiences and educating students in modern health systems, said Marc Hahn, president and CEO at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences’ College of Osteopathic Medicine.
OU-HCOM already incorporates these principles into its classes, especially as the campuses in Dublin and Cleveland open in July 2014 and July 2015, respectively, Johnson said.
“The sense that we’ve had of doing that is not leading in the sense of wanting to leave others behind, but leading in the sense of taking others with us,” Johnson said.
OU-HCOM’s goal of increasing primary-care physicians is realized with the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Grant of $105 million received in 2011, part of which will go toward student scholarships, Johnson said.
“Because we had such a large leadership role in the Blue Ribbon Commission, they thought it would add a little more depth and breadth to the press release if they could have us comment on it,” Johnson said.
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— Olivia Hitchcock contributed to this article.
