Many valid points have been made up to this point. I feel an obligation to intervene and provide at least a little clarification regarding some of the issues discussed. Having been a part of the Student Government at AZCOM this last year, I feel I am in a unique position to do so. I will attempt to be as objective as possible. Take my commentary with a grain of salt, and please arrive at your own educated conclusions.
Concern 1: High tuition
This one has been beaten to death. The administration is well aware that the student body is universally perturbed with the upward trend of tuition at MWU-AZCOM. In fact, this was the single largest concern voiced by students to COCA (Committee on Osteopathic College Accreditation) during the periodic review of our school in February. We have been told that the new schools on the horizon (namely, the dental school) and further growth of the campus are not being funded by AZCOM's tuition dollars. These new degree programs must be "stand-alone" programs with the ability to be self-sufficient. I have not seen specific numbers or the line-items in the MWU budget. I am also unaware as to how the university on the corporate level channels specific funds.
Concern 2: AZCOM's Reluctance to Pay for Rotations
The discussion on this topic in this thread has been largely anecdotal and limited to payment of individual preceptors. It has been openly expressed in osteopathic circles the reluctance to monetarily compensate individual docs for teaching students. Many believe doctors, especially D.O.'s, ought to give back to their profession by voluntarily teaching students, as many of their mentors had done for them during their training. The challenge, of course, lies in securing rotations not only with preceptors, but also with the academic or ward-based facilities in Arizona. I have been told in person by the outgoing Dean that AZCOM does in fact pay for rotations. The figure that I recall being told is $1.5 million, which works out to roughly $2500 per student, or $5000 per rotating MSIII-MSIV student (a previous post quoted $1500 per student, which may in fact be more accurate). Please do not quote me on the exact figure, as I am having to rely on memory, which fails me on occasion. Regardless, for those who say that AZCOM does not pay for rotations period, they are either misinformed or feeding the rumor tree. Also, remember that $2500 in the big scheme of things is still very little. AZCOM simply does not have the type of funding that many state-funded schools, such as the UofA, have at their disposal. That is not to say that AZCOM cannot and should not consider increasing the funding for its rotating students. If it is possible, it should be done.
Concern 3: The State of Clinical Education, Quality Rotations & Growth of Class Sizes
Having spoken with students that have come before me, the last several years have seen significant improvements with the quantity and quality of rotations available to AZCOM students in Arizona. AZCOM has secured spots at Phx Children's, Maricopa County, the VA, and within the Banner Healthcare network, which were largely unavailable to our students in years past. This was the impetus behind limiting the number of out-of-state rotations that 3rd year students are allowed. These affiliations simply would not be feasible if many of our students continued to leave Arizona to do their rotations. AZCOM has needed to provide assurances that these spots would indeed be filled by its students. This is definitely one of the issues that has been met with mixed reviews by students. Many still favor the flexibility to rotate elsewhere during the 3rd year, while others like the idea of continuity and better rotations in-state. Please keep in mind that 4th year students are still able to do as many away rotations as they desire.
There is certainly a shortage of quality ward-based rotations, but we must also recognize that the scope of this problem extends beyond the Clinical Education Department. There are simply not enough teaching facilities in the state currently to accomodate all of our students. This shortfall will be further amplified when class sizes increase at AZCOM. The incoming class of 2011 will stand at about 151, but the university still plans to increase enrollment to 250 per class in the next several years.
In response to a previous post, information provided at a Dean's Council meeting a couple of months ago indicates the dental school students will NOT share classes with AZCOM students. This was deemed unfeasible and unreasonable. So unless your information is more accurate or more current than what I have been told, the previous post is false.
Concern 4: Turnover of Professors
AZCOM has been highly regarded for its outstanding basic science curriculum and high-quality faculty. We have seen a number of great professors over the last couple years leave to pursue other opportunities. I cannot comment on their reasons for leaving, but we have also seen an influx of well-qualified faculty at AZCOM. There may be a larger problem underlying the departure of certain professors, but I hesitate to guess, conjecture, or propagate rumors. However, this is an area that should be looked at to make sure that the school is doing everything in its power to recruit and retain talented professors.
Concern 5: New Dean's Qualifications
The school announced that Dr. Lori Kemper, D.O., will serve as the new Dean of AZCOM effective this summer. Several have questioned her credentials. I have met with her on several occasions and came away impressed. She is indeed a practicing physician in the Valley, but will be giving up her practice for her new position. Dr. Kemper has not only served as the Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at AZCOM, but she has also been a DME, Chief of Staff, and FP Residency Program Director at St. Luke's Hospital. She is the President-Elect of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association, and she has been instrumental (along with Dr. Finch, Dr. Cole, and others) in fighting for equal access for AZCOM students to hospitals traditionally reserved for the UofA.
I hope some of you find the information above helpful. To give further perspective, I have just completed my 2nd year of study and am overall very pleased with my experience at AZCOM. Our faculty and students are the school's greatest assets. With that said, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The school must continue to work toward expanding clinical opportunities for our students. I feel the administration should also promote responsible growth as it moves to expand MWU because as it currently stands, I believe the school has neither the facilities nor the faculty to accommodate the planned increase in enrollment. And more time to study for Board exams would be a huge plus! Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors. 👍