Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)

Vcom is an Osteopathic medical College guided by a mission that will produce the physicians this country needs.education:as a medical school, vcom continues to make extraordinary progress towards improving healthcare in rural america through the work of students, alumni and research. The accomplishments of this year are landmark steps in educating the next generation of physicians. Vcom has now graduated 5041 physicians and is growing to be one of the largest sources of physicians in the southeastern united states. While vcom has grown into one of the largest medical schools in the country, each campus maintains the feel of a small private College for the student, with a dedicated focus on the community, state, and medically underserved region that the campus serves.from the admissions process to graduate medical education programs, the vcom mission focuses on rural and medically underserved populations in student academic programs and in alumni outcomes. The commitment to rural health is evident in the admissions process, with 22% of our students coming from rural communities of less than 10,000 and 47% from communities of less than 30,000. Diversity outcomes also demonstrate this commitment. Across the four campuses, vcom is a leader for black and hispanic students enrolled. Presently 60% of vcom graduates now work in medically underserved communities incuding primary care health professions areas after residency and 64% practice in a target area in an appalachian or delta county or city. Vcom's proven philosophy of targeting recruitment of students most likely to return to the regions of our mission provides the opportunity for those from rural and medically underserved communities to become physicians in those areas. The compass that guides success is the strength of this mission and a vision for healthier appalachian and delta regions. It points to a future where every person has access to good medical care and good health, regardless of the size of the community where they live, their diverse backgrounds or their socioeconomic status.vcom's initial vision was to provide healthcare for southwest Virginia and other medically underserved regions and the greater appalachian region and to promote joint biomedical research with Virginia tech. Under a public/private partnership between vcom and Virginia tech, the College opened its doors to the first students in blacksburg, Virginia, in the fall of 2003 and graduated its first class in 2007. The Virginia campus has now graduated 2,894 physicians.in 2010, vcom founded the second campus in collaboration with spartanburg regional health system to address the healthcare shortages in the upstate region of south carolina. The first students began their medical education at vcom-carolinas in the fall of 2011, and the campus graduated its first class in 2015. The College has the most students in carolinas enrolled in family Medicine residencies. The campus has graduated over 1,389 physicians.auburn university administration learned of the success of the vcom/vt collaboration and through a public/private collaboration, opened a vcom campus at auburn university. Vcom-auburn's inaugural class began in 2015 and graduated in may 2019. Vcom auburn has 758 graduates to date, with a growing number of alumni already returning to practice in the state, and a large number committed to practicing within the state when residency is completed. Vcom and the university of Louisiana monroe (ulm) formed a public/private partnership and opened its fourth campus to students in 2020. The Louisiana campus currently has 618 students in its four classes. The inaugural class will graduate in may of 2024. This campus is working to address the physician shortage in Louisiana, which ranks 39th in the u.s. for per capita primary care physicians. 81% of the state has been designated a health professional shortage area by the Louisiana department of health, leaving room for future vcom graduates to make a real difference for the health of its citizens.

Outreach:an important part of vcom's purpose and mission is ensuring that its students are "globally-minded [and] community-focused." Vcom's goal of serving the underserved draws students from all across the united states. Our students are committed to becoming physicians that serve those most in need. This is perhaps most visible in our ongoing outreach efforts, both in the appalachian and delta regions, as well as internationally. The outreach programs built into the curriculum provide students with rewarding service experiences in surrounding communities and beyond.these programs are designed to address healthcare disparities including those related to rural locations, minority populations, poverty and access to primary care. An emphasis on the teaching of preventive care through outreach experiences allows vcom faculty and students to not only treat patients, but also guide students in improving the overall health of rural and underserved populations, reinforcing the vcom mission. To support the students' effort to fulfill the mission, vcom works year-round to develop partnerships, research endeavors, clinical opportunities and facility improvements to ensure students and alumni can follow where they are led.medical outreach experiences are a key component in educating students to meet the healthcare needs in challenging environments. Through community outreach, vcom students experience the impact of providing care for patients who live in poor socioeconomic conditions. From the time they commence their medical education, vcom students gain skills in patient-centered Medicine through outreach activities in the communities around the campuses as well as regionally. Beginning in their first year, vcom students are actively involved in public health, participating in local health fairs, free screening events, community health clinics, prevention education programs, mini-medical schools at rural high schools and other learning opportunities within the community, all while receiving instruction from experienced faculty and staff. Regional outreach programsfrom the time they begin their medical education, vcom students are actively involved in community service. This past year, the vcom campuses were once again able to provide community service on a widespread basis, as restrictions for public gatherings were lessened across the country. Across the four campuses, vcom's students answered the call of their local communities and could be seen supporting a variety of organizations with food and supply drives, offering health screenings and providing educational materials to the public. Our newest campus was not exempt from getting involved early and playing a critical role. When hurricane ida affected areas of southern Louisiana and sent evacuees north to monroe, vcom Louisiana students, faculty and staff rose to the occasion and joined front line efforts to provide support for those displaced by the disaster. Joined by regional disaster relief organizations, city officials and area collegiate nursing students, they completed triage forms, wrote and filled prescriptions, assisted in meeting basic hygiene needs, taking blood pressure and other vitals, and providing much needed supplies to the hundreds of evacuees who took shelter at the monroe civic center. A small sample of just a few common events held at each campus is described below. These activities represent only a fraction of the outreach activities that were held, with each campus having a variety of events unique to their community. Please also view our annual report for a more comprehensive picture of local outreach engagements.mini-med schools - a cornerstone of vcom's mission is to train the next generation of physicians. "mini-medical schools," which allow rural high school students a view behind the scenes into the lives of medical students, are a key component. Vcom students, as part of their appalachian outreach and interprofessional early clinical experiences (iece) training, assist faculty in conducting the program 14 fridays a year. High school students rotate through six stations, each staffed by vcom students and dedicated to a common health problem. The program is designed to encourage high school students to consider healthcare as a potential career option.summer enrichment experience (see) - each summer, vcom hosts summer camps for high school students, from rural areas and at-risk populations, with one week for boys and the other for girls. The summer enrichment experience (see) is offered to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors and provides them with an introduction to human anatomy and medical science. Designed to encourage students to pursue careers in science and Medicine, the see program also gives them an appreciation of the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle.stem opportunities for youth - science, technology, engineering and math (stem) are essential in the world of today and tomorrow. To promote interest in healthcare careers and share their experiences with students from rural and underserved areas, vcom students and faculty provide a number of stem programs to local schools.international outreach programinternational outreach efforts distinguish vcom as having one of the nation's outstanding medical school global health programs while supporting the vision and mission of the College. Vcom provides experience for future physicians to participate in one-week long international medical outreach trips for second-year students and faculty physicians, up to 12 times annually. Students in their third and fourth years also have an opportunity to pursue international clinical rotations.with three year-round medical clinics and hospital affiliations in the dominican republic and honduras, coupled with educational affiliations with the appalachian school of pharmacy, the nursing program at bluefield university (and other partners), the vcom international clinic sites provide a most unique experience. These experiences focus on sustainable public health, community health and individual patient care to populations in need allowing students to become globally- minded, community-focused physicians. Rapidly expanding international research also provides students and faculty opportunities to use applied research to enhance prevention of disease and promotion of better healthcare practices. In the wake of covid-19, international outreach trips were temporarily halted during 2020 for the safety of vcom students, faculty and staff as well as the communities served. Vcom continued to support the international clinics through student fundraisers, donations of supplies and bi-weekly video conference meetings. To further continue serving and help play a part in combating the global pandemic, vcom students channeled additional outreach efforts towards the local community. Over the past year, vcom regional outreach efforts focused on organizing and implementing numerous donation drives, disaster relief and covid-19 vaccine clinics held at churches, schools and health clinics thoughout our surrounding communities. Vcom is pleased to announce that international outreach trips were able to resume once again in july 2023.the vcom international program continues to advance where possible with current covid safety restrictions. Support to international clinics, research, publications, curriculum development, student organization international activities and other components has continued. Student interest in international programs remains high based on the number of applications for programs. International clinical rotations with third- and fourth-year students resumed in 2022 in honduras and the dominican republic.usns comfort medical outreachthe most significant recent development involving the College's international outreach program was a memorandum of understanding (mou) between vcom and southcom that was signed in february of 2022. Trips began during the fall of 2022, with vcom faculty physicians and health professional scholarship program (hpsp) military students participating in clinical rotations on the usns comfort medical ship for one-week engagements in honduras and the dominican republic. Vcom clinic physicians and incountry medical providers assist with medical outreach in the countries when they are on shore. Up to four physicians and eight vcom third- and fourth-year hpsp students per trip live on the comfort and participate with us military and incountry medical providers on trips to both honduras and the dominican republic.please visit the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (vcom) website at - www.vcom.edufor a more comprehensive look at all of our latest educational, research and outreach initiatives through which vcom is changing the world, please see our latest annual report at: wwwvcomedunewsandeventspublicatio...

Research:part of vcom's mission is to advance scientific knowledge through medical research. Vcom strives to foster a culture of faculty growth and institutional excellence through support for faculty research, innovation and scholarly work to improve human health.medical research provides the foundation for discoveries that will benefit human and animal populations around the world. It can analyze disease trends, risk factors, provide new treatment options, develop new medicines, create or improve medical devices, reduce health care costs and provide new directions for patient care. For those suffering from disease, in one word-research provides hope. Never before has this been more evident or in the spotlight globally than in 2020 as the world faced new unknowns surrounding the covid-19 pandemic.in the wake of a global pandemic, the need for new, innovative medical advances is more apparent than ever and vcom's researchers are on the frontlines. Since the federal government has responded by dedicating more funding for covid-19 research, vcom has seen many new research projects funded from these efforts, and the vcom research division is pleased with the success of its members.in the past year, vcom provided over $1.17 million in seed funding to its faculty and supported more than 240 research projects. There were 82 peer-reviewed publications generated in 2023, more than 100 publications with vcom students named as contributing authors, and over 300 posters featuring students as co-authors were presented at local, regional, national, and international conferences. Vcom's cureus channel, established in 2023, has published 32 articles, and 28 are currently in review. In 2023, vcom achieved a noteworthy 28% success rate with extramural applications. Research expenditures totaled more than $8.5 million. Vcom's successful program to encourage student research, the d.o. With research distinction program, which began in 2020, continues to grow rapidly. This program provides resources and training to encourage students to become clinician-researchers. Students accepted into the program complete a designated curriculum and design and conduct a research project with a faculty mentor. Upon completion, the do with research distinction program awards students who have completed significant research with an additional certification at graduation. Such output includes submitting a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal. Thus far, 93 students have received the distinction. Currently, 152 students are enrolled in the program.the 8th annual vcom research retreat was held november 2022, at the vcom-carolinas campus in spartanburg, sc. This annual event has become a cornerstone for the continuous growth of the vcom research environment. It provides an ideal opportunity for faculty to become better acquainted with the unique research capacities, resources, and opportunities available across the vcom four-campus system.key priorities for the 2022 research retreat included building new interdisciplinary networks and enhancing collaborations among scientists and clinicians at the vcom auburn, carolinas, Louisiana, and Virginia campus locations, clinical partners, and colleagues at associated institutions of higher education. Our goal is to bring great minds together across vcom's geographic reach, inspire innovative new research ventures, and lay the groundwork to support and sustain these cross-campus partnerships.over the next few years, each retreat has been or will be hosted on one of the vcom campuses to give faculty the chance to visit the other campuses and stimulate potential collaborations. The 9th annual vcom research retreat is scheduled for november 3-5, 2023, at the vcom-auburn campus in auburn, al.