Just a curiosity about DO schools and their satellite campuses

[Ultimeaciax]

Why is it that majority of DO schools have satellite campuses? For example, LECOM has three campuses, Tuoro has two, and so on. This is not very apparent in the MD world. Why?

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[Poliscidoc]

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[Goro]

$. It's all about the $. More $ for the parent organization.

Why is it that majority of DO schools have satellite campuses? For example, LECOM has three campuses, Tuoro has two, and so on. This is not very apparent in the MD world. Why?

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

$. It's all about the $. More $ for the parent organization.

This. Its always about this.

 

[enigmalti]

This. Its always about this.

And MD is not about this?

 

[488677]

Cost savings and also most MD schools are attached to hospitals. Hard to pick up a hospital and move it.

A very large portion of MD schools are not attached to hospitals. I can name a couple off the top of my head that aren't even affiliated with a hospital in the same city they are located.

MSUCOM has 2 satellite campuses despite the university's hospital being located in Lansing.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

And MD is not about this?

Oh I didn't mean it that way. It definitely is. I mean that most things revolve around money. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I am only speaking about LECOM. Yes, it is about the money but it's also trying to pick up the slack and produce more primary care doctors by allowing more students to have the opportunity to go to medical school. LECOM currently graduates more doctors each year than any other school between the 3 campuses.

 

[Socrates25]

And MD is not about this?

There are 2 models for acquiring money. I'm going to use the burger joint analogy -- In N Out vs McDonalds.

1. In-N-Out: build up a reputation by creating a unique product that the public wants. sell it as prestigious.

2. McDonalds: dont care so much about rep, just make it cheap and expandable so we can get in every small corner/niche of the market.

MDs have chosen option 1, DOs have chosen option 2

 

[Poliscidoc]

.

 

[LifeTake2]

Why is it that majority of DO schools have satellite campuses? For example, LECOM has three campuses, Tuoro has two, and so on. This is not very apparent in the MD world. Why?

Despite all the efforts above to make this about money, or quality of education the fact is actually pretty simple.

The majority of allopathic medical schools are public, and like public universities you tend to have one campus. If there is a public school in two towns 150 miles apart, they are two schools.

Likewise, there may be multiple public allopathic schools in the same state, but not the same school. Whereas, since DO schools are primarily private, there is no hindrance to having the same 'name' in different locations.

To argue DO schools are opening more campuses for the $$, raises a lot of questions what you would argue the UC system is doing the same thing with campuses at Irving, Davis, SF, & SD.

Where is the difference. For that matter, while LECOM has the reputation for graduating 9999999 students from their 3 programs combined, how many does UC (or SUNY or any other large state program) graduate? Is it really that different?

 

[Cuongoff]

VCOM will be opening up another campus. I think it's going to be in Alabama or Arkansas or somewhere like that. Their reasoning was that they weren't planning on creating a third branch but the offer was too good and that the school will be built to help rural communities in that area.

 

[Moosepig]

VCOM will be opening up another campus. I think it's going to be in Alabama or Arkansas or somewhere like that. Their reasoning was that they weren't planning on creating a third branch but the offer was too good and that the school will be built to help rural communities in that area.

It's opening in Alabama. I truly believe VCOM cares about supplying PCPs to rural areas, but it could be the $.

 

[cliquesh]

It is easier to get accreditation if you are a satellite campus opposed to a brand new school. This is what I was told....and it's also about making money.

 

[scpod]

It is easier to get accreditation if you are a satellite campus opposed to a brand new school. This is what I was told....and it's also about making money.

It is significantly easier to get accreditation with opening a satellite campus. As for making money, it's very easy to see where the money goes. Non-profit corporations still file with the IRS and the Form 990 is viewable over the Internet. For example, the most recent one for LECOM is the 2011 filing.

They had $84,302,510 of revenue, of which $73,663,148 came from tuition and fees. Other notable income included goverment grants of $1,204,570, fundraising of $753,687 and application fees of $649,350. They also had revenue from investment income, securities, 2 plus million from the wellness center...etc.

They had expenses of $48,076,702. That includes John and Sylvia's salaries of $501,737 and $658,129-- less than quite a few doctors at my hospital. For those who believe they never pay for rotations, they did spend $857,000 on student rotation fees. At the end of the year they had cash on hand of $3,381,735 and savings and short term investments of $48,676,488.

They indicated assets of $242,147,295 and liabilities of 22,336,150.

All of those figures are significantly less than the hospital I work for. I looked them up as well. I don't think it's really a money-making thing.

 

[zoner]

Thay asset is almost as large as harvard endowment

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile

 

[excitedtoapply]

Opening a school in bf-nowhere with no connections is hard but how else does a school focus on getting people to study and stay there? Look at the Pacific Northwest. There is not a lot of population density and therefore it is harder to support medical schools and yet the population still needs doctors. By building satellite campuses in these areas, schools can support the need for doctors but avoid the pain of trying to get a new accreditation. PNWU just got accredited last year which means they had a class go through 4 years of school with the promise that they should be a DO at the end (fortunately that was true). WesternU started setting up residency programs in the NW before they opened the new school so that they weren't starting from scratch, the first class already knows they will be getting an accredited degree.

Long story short, I think the Osteopathic Philosophy really focuses on getting more doctors into under served areas and building satellite campuses is the easiest way to do that.

 

[zoner]

Opening a school in bf-nowhere with no connections is hard but how else does a school focus on getting people to study and stay there? Look at the Pacific Northwest. There is not a lot of population density and therefore it is harder to support medical schools and yet the population still needs doctors. By building satellite campuses in these areas, schools can support the need for doctors but avoid the pain of trying to get a new accreditation. PNWU just got accredited last year which means they had a class go through 4 years of school with the promise that they should be a DO at the end (fortunately that was true). WesternU started setting up residency programs in the NW before they opened the new school so that they weren't starting from scratch, the first class already knows they will be getting an accredited degree.

Long story short, I think the Osteopathic Philosophy really focuses on getting more doctors into under served areas and building satellite campuses is the easiest way to do that.

I question this sentiment. If that really is the case, what is the point of adding veterinary school, another dental school and another physical therapy school as if there weren't enough of those already?

 

[excitedtoapply]

I question this sentiment. If that really is the case, what is the point of adding veterinary school, another dental school and another physical therapy school as if there weren't enough of those already?

I can't say anything to dental or PT school but I do know there are not many veterinary schools, particularly in the midwest and west. I would say the same applies.

 

[NurWollen]

I question this sentiment. If that really is the case, what is the point of adding veterinary school, another dental school and another physical therapy school as if there weren't enough of those already?

Whether they do it for the money or not, people who are in charge of medicals tend to be goal-oriented, success-driven people. Imagine you're the president or dean or what not of a medical school. Your med school is your life's work. It's your baby. You want to see it progress and expand and gain influence. It's human nature.

 

[Nymphicus]

Long story short, I think the Osteopathic Philosophy really focuses on getting more doctors into under served areas and building satellite campuses is the easiest way to do that.