New For Profit Osteopathic Medical School In New Mexico

[2021Doctor]

Jun 16, 2014, 2:18pm MDT
New NMSU medical school may bring 300 residency slots

The effort to start New Mexico’s coming osteopathic medical school began about four years ago, and the schools’s supporters faced a major hurdle: They had to secure at least 100 residency slots in New Mexico for the school’s graduates.

They’ve done better than that.

“We have secured 300 residency slots in New Mexico,” said Ralph McClish, executive director of the New Mexico Osteopathic Medical Association. “They could be filled by DOs or MDs.”

Those residency slots are at 13 New Mexico hospitals, McClish added.

The school, which is expected to be located at New Mexico State University, will be a nearly $70 million project, is privately funded and will be a for-profit school similar to Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colorado, McClish said. It will have room for about 100 students, about as big as the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine.

“The funding has been secured,” McClish said, adding that the school’s proponents have been working with the New Mexico Department of Higher Education and the American Osteopathic Association in an effort to get it going.

The idea to start the school began about four years ago during an annual meeting of the AOA. At the time, then-AOA PresidentKaren Nichols laid down the rules.

“Karen told us, no residency slots, no school,” McClish said, adding that Nichols wanted at least 100 residency slots in New Mexico.

Medical doctors and DOs can’t practice until they have had at least two years of post-graduate residency training, McClish said.

Those new residency positions could help alleviate New Mexico’s doctor shortage, and they could help the state’s economy by keeping more doctors here, McClish added.

More here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...-school-may-bring-300-residency.html?page=all

SCHOOL IS NOW ON THE COCA LIST TOO!!!!!
http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/accreditation/predoctoral accreditation/Documents/new-and-developing-colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine-and-campuses.pdf

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[NurWollen]

I wonder of RVU itself is involved at all. It seems they have/had a similar plan going in Cedar City, UT. Loose affiliation with a public university, etc.

Either way I'm not thrilled with the whole for-profit thing, but if the 300 residency slot thing is for real then this is the most responsible DO school expansion in years.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I wonder of RVU itself is involved at all. It seems they have/had a similar plan going in Cedar City, UT. Loose affiliation with a public university, etc.

Either way I'm not thrilled with the whole for-profit thing, but if the 300 residency slot thing is for real then this is the most responsible DO school expansion in years.

yea they would be doing it smart, but it sounds like the state was making them do it, not necessarily because they had the innate desire to be a good school heh.

 

[BurghStudent]

yea they would be doing it smart, but it sounds like the state was making them do it, not necessarily because they had the innate desire to be a good school heh.

True. That should be a new requirement for new medical schools though, on a state by state basis.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

True. That should be a new requirement for new medical schools though, on a state by state basis.

I would agree! That would not only keep bad/unprepared schools from opening (and thus keeping the DO name solid), but would also help with the whole residency situation after medical school - for all schools MD and DO. Someone with some actual power should propose this haha.

 

[Back 5]

For-proft with 300 secured residency slots and university affiliation? Seems okay to me. Better than most schools.

 

[DrBowtie]

For-proft with 300 secured residency slots and university affiliation? Seems okay to me. Better than most schools.

Unclear if 300 funded years or 300 PGY1 slots. I suspect the former but no details to confirm.

 

[BurghStudent]

The last for-profit med school I heard was in the works was the Rhode Island School of Osteopathic Medicine. Still no news on it's activity though.

 

[Mehd School]

While obviously the for-profit status is shady, attaching COM's to actual universities instead of atrocities such as Liberty U is a good move. The excess residency spots is a giant step in the right direction as well. I approve.

 

[DocVapor]

I guess we are assuming that these residency slots will meet ACGME standards?

 

[SnowDoggy44]

Not directly related to NMSU, but the new Campbell University is adding family med (24 positions) and internal med (39 positions) residencies in Lumberton, NC at Southeastern Regional Medical Center (one hour from the Buies Creek campus). They are set to start July 1st, 2015. Also, they are supposed to be setting up a primary care program in 2015 with Harnett Health (151 beds between two hospitals). Sampson Regional MC (146 beds) will eventually have programs through OMNEE, and already has a Dermatology residency listed on http://opportunities.osteopathic.org. Campbell U so far even has a sports med fellowship already established in its work with OMNEE.
http://www.campbell.edu/news/item/med-school-receives-approval-for-first-residency-programs
http://www.robesonian.com/news/home...h-wins-Duke-grant-to-accommodate-new-programs
http://www.campbell.edu/news/item/campbell-harnett-health-partnership-will-include-residency-program
http://www.omnee.net/member_facilities/cusom-sports-medicine-fellowship/
http://www.sampsonrmc.org/join_our_team/graduate_medical_education.aspx
http://opportunities.osteopathic.or...program_id=361516&hosp_id=361515&returnPage=1

Alabama COM is supposed to be setting up FM, IM, EM, and Psych programs (75 positions in all) at Southeast Alabama Medical Center starting July 2015. But I haven't found anymore news about their progress.
http://thedo.osteopathic.org/2012/0...amas-new-do-school-to-leverage-hospital-ties/

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any news concerning whether Marian U has made any advancements on this front.

Clearly NMSU is on the ball.

 

[hallowmann]

Its likely that you should be dividing all of these numbers by at least 3. When they say 300 new residency positions, they make no mention of whether these are PGY1 or not, meaning they're likely counting all spots in that number (PGY1-PGY3 at least). That's likely only an addition of 100 first year spots, kind of like how last year the AOA added 1800 spots, but it really equated to 200-300 new PGY1 positions.

A lot of schools have been adding positions. I know LECOM added a bunch last year, same goes for COMP, Touro-NV, CCOM, etc.

As far as it being added to the COCA list, until its on the pre-accredited list, I'm not counting on it opening just yet. Take a look at the others on that list. Some submitted apps 4-6 years ago with no development. While its likely NMSU might actually get a COM, nothing's guaranteed until they're pre-accredited.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I'm actually happy to hear about this COM. It sounds like they are growing responsibly, in a state with no DO schools and this will likely translate to more doctors in a state where there are many underserved areas. For profit sucks, but I think at this point having them is old news for both MD/DO.

 

[Mr Kenobi]

"Medical doctors and DOs can’t practice until they have had at least two years of post-graduate residency training, McClish said."
lol...stuff like this still gets me.

 

[NurWollen]

I guess we are assuming that these residency slots will meet ACGME standards?

The article mentions that both DOs and MDs will be able to apply for the residencies. I don't know if they are aiming for dual accreditation pre-2020 or if they just plan on Osteo-focused ACGME accreditation from the start.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I guess we are assuming that these residency slots will meet ACGME standards?

Almost all residencies that DO schools open up these days are dual accredited. I know CUSOM's are all Dual accredited.

 

[SnowDoggy44]

Almost all residencies that DO schools open up these days are dual accredited. I know CUSOM's are all Dual accredited.

opportunities.osteopathic.org/ does not seem to support your claim about CUSOM's new programs nor most of the new ones listed here: http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Education/Pages/new-aoa-approved-ogme-programs.aspx.
Do you have a source on this?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

opportunities.osteopathic.org/ does not seem to support your claim about CUSOM's new programs nor most of the new ones listed here: http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Education/Pages/new-aoa-approved-ogme-programs.aspx.
Do you have a source on this?

When I was interviewing the assistant dean stated that they were dual accredited.

 

[user3]

.

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

So glad to see that the AOA is pushing for schools to have required residency spots. that is HUGE!!! Don't know if the new Liberty School in Va is bringing any new residencies, my guess is a big fat NO. This is exciting for the DO community it will be interesting to see how it works out

 

[Impurple]

I still think these for-profit schools are wrong for our profession, either MD or DO. But a huge problem with DO schools imo is the tuition-driven model that promotes larger class sizes, class size expansions, endless tuition hikes, little investment in research, etc. If we do not prioritize investing in our institutions or advancing science and medicine, and mainly exist for generating money off indebted students, what are we more than glorified vocational schools?

And sure, the LCME now supposedly allows the for-profit (changed their language from "must" be non-profit to "should"), but opening and operating an MD school that relies on funding via tuition or excessive class size would still put the school in violation.

The language never said "must." It used to say schools should not have for-profit status, but that's been recently deleted, so it no longer mentions the for-profit status at all. But I think you're right, that schools are supposed to get their income from diverse sources to be accredited.

 

[Siggy]

Let's be honest about this for a second. The difference between "for profit" and "non-profit" medical schools, with how the private schools are run, is honesty.

 

[Mehd School]

So glad to see that the AOA is pushing for schools to have required residency spots. that is HUGE!!! Don't know if the new Liberty School in Va is bringing any new residencies, my guess is a big fat NO. This is exciting for the DO community it will be interesting to see how it works out

Even if it were, would you be interested in completing a residency at Liberty? Me either.

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

Even if it were, would you be interested in completing a residency at Liberty? Me either.

haha that first match list will be an "interesting" one

 

[Mass Effect]

yea they would be doing it smart, but it sounds like the state was making them do it, not necessarily because they had the innate desire to be a good school heh.

Actually, it sounds like Karen Nichols, not the state, was the one who suggested it. What ever happened to her anyway?

 

[NurWollen]

haha that first match list will be an "interesting" one

Ten bucks says someone from Liberty matches here:

http://www.inhisimage.org/

 

[WildEMDoc]

Weird its going to be for-profit. I went to NMSU for undergrad, been talk of a school for years, either an MD with UNM or DO on it's own; glad to see something finally happened.

The state definitely needs more docs, I'm a little troubled about the 300 slots (even if its 100 slots per 3 years). There are maybe 5 hospitals that could support residency programs in the state, and 1 that could expand to include a few more residencies. Out of those, maybe 2 could support anything outside of FM or Community IM.

Glad there is a state DO school opening, and another med school in this state, but man, I hope they don't screw it up. At least there's a good sign they won't since their class size will be 100!

 

[Mosonik]

Actually, it sounds like Karen Nichols, not the state, was the one who suggested it. What ever happened to her anyway?

She is still Dean at CCOM. Been there for years

 

[user3]

well, I guess if its name will be NMSU-COM we can all forget about the for-profit status.

the planned school in Arkansas will apparently be named NYIT-COM @ ASU, which I think sounds horrible.

It would also be a good idea to bring existing DO schools in closer association with universities somehow.

 

[Gatorman177]

well, I guess if its name will be NMSU-COM we can all forget about the for-profit status.

the planned school in Arkansas will apparently be named NYIT-COM @ ASU, which I think sounds horrible.

It would also be a good idea to bring existing DO schools in closer association with universities somehow.

I agree. VCOM at virginia tech and auburn comes to mind. "Auburn College of Osteopathic Medicine" sounds better to me than "edward via college of osteopathic medicine - auburn campus"

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

I agree. VCOM at virginia tech and auburn comes to mind. "Auburn College of Osteopathic Medicine" sounds better to me than "edward via college of osteopathic medicine - auburn campus"

I'm a VCOM student. That would make me very happy, but I guess I do understand that the Via Family donated enough to have their name on the school. I am just glad to see VCOM keeping the idea that affiliating with a University is a good idea, more COMs need to do that and this New Mexico School is excellent for the DO community.

Liberty on the other hand , smh

 

[user3]

Weird its going to be for-profit. I went to NMSU for undergrad, been talk of a school for years, either an MD with UNM or DO on it's own; glad to see something finally happened.

The state definitely needs more docs, I'm a little troubled about the 300 slots (even if its 100 slots per 3 years). There are maybe 5 hospitals that could support residency programs in the state, and 1 that could expand to include a few more residencies. Out of those, maybe 2 could support anything outside of FM or Community IM.

Glad there is a state DO school opening, and another med school in this state, but man, I hope they don't screw it up. At least there's a good sign they won't since their class size will be 100!

for-profit schools are actually not eligible for federal student loans until they are fully accredited (4 years). I wonder if this will cause those involved to reconsider the for-profit status, as students at this much-needed school being ineligible for federal aid might create poor PR and cause more qualified applicants to attend elsewhere.

 

[hallowmann]

for-profit schools are actually not eligible for federal student loans until they are fully accredited (4 years). I wonder if this will cause those involved to reconsider the for-profit status, as students at this much-needed school being ineligible for federal aid might create poor PR and cause more qualified applicants to attend elsewhere.

Is that what happened with RVU-COM when it first opened? Did they offer a bunch of scholarships or something to entice more students?

 

[user3]

Is that what happened with RVU-COM when it first opened? Did they offer a bunch of scholarships or something to entice more students?

From what I know, people were either on HPSP (or maybe NHSC) or took out private loans.

 

[hallowmann]

From what I know, people were either on HPSP (or maybe NHSC) or took out private loans.

That's an awful lot of people doing HPSP or NHSC. I can't imagine doing private loans the whole way through though.

 

[Siggy]

Ten bucks says someone from Liberty matches here:

http://www.inhisimage.org/

Damn... 3 call shifts a month as a senior and they're PGY1s make $4k more than PGY 1s at my county hospital? If it was an EM program, sign me up.