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Erie Medical College Hopes to Attract More Students to Family Practice with Shorter Time to Earn the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree

The numbers seem to keep growing with every new study. The physician shortage is coming upon us quickly and we're already seeing it grow worse in family practice. Rising education costs, reductions in family practice residency programs, and lower earnings potential make it difficult to recruit and attract young doctors to primary care.

LECOM has decided to recruit more physicians for family practice by reducing the time it takes to earn an osteopathic medicine degree to three years. Continuing our mission to help grow the osteopathic medical profession, the college will start a Primary Care Scholars Pathway (PCSP) that not only will reduce the time it takes to become a family physician but also reduce the cost of medical education. The LECOM PCSP has received approval from the American Osteopathic Association Committee on Osteopathic College Accreditation and backing of the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice. The PCSP will condense four years of medical education into three years in order to graduate more family doctors sooner and to save these students one year of expenses that adds to the mounting debt held by medical college graduates.

LECOM proposed this innovative curricular pathway in response to the declining interest in primary care and particularly family practice. Studies show that educational loans topping $150,000 will influence career paths taken by medical students. They are least likely to pursue family medicine. We hope to attract new students by offering them a shorter path to a medical degree without jeopardizing their education in the areas needed to train a family physician."

LECOM formed a committee through the College's Primary Care Department led by Associate Professor of Family Medicine Richard Ortoski, D.O. The committee reviewed the need for family physicians and the factors causing the decreasing number of medical students who are interested in primary care. The rising cost of medical education and the lower earning power of family practice physicians have become the leading impediments to students with an interest in family medicine.

Research indicates that medical college selection factors based on higher MCAT scores and GPAs weigh against students who want to become family physicians in rural areas and small towns where the need for new doctors remains the greatest. LECOM will carefully select applicants who show the most interest in family practice while still meeting quality education admissions standards.

The committee looked at the best ways to meet the educational requirements and keep the curriculum within three years. Based on LECOM's experience developing its unique Problem-Based Learning and Independent Study curriculums, the committee chose to use the Independent Study learning modules as a guide to the new curriculum. LECOM will eliminate the student's first summer vacation and start the second year basic science and clinical courses so that the second year will end in early March. PCSP students immediately will begin core clinical rotations at carefully selected hospitals and physician offices. The college will designate Millcreek Community Hospital, St. Vincent Health Center, and Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA, along with Meadville (PA) Medical Center and UHHS-Richmond Heights, OH, as the core rotation sites for PCSP students.

The PCSP group also reviewed the third-year and fourth-year clinical rotations needed to become family physicians. We see in every medical school class that students choose electives based on their desire to explore medical specialties and audition for internships and residencies at their favorite hospitals while on rotations. By concentrating on the core primary care rotations and creating new clinical experiences needed to become good family doctors, we can reduce the final two years of medical college to just over a year. With less vacation time, PSCP students still will have spent as much time in training as their fellow students in the four-year programs.

In the fall of 2007, LECOM will select its first PCSP class from a group of candidates after they complete the first twelve weeks of Gross Anatomy. Medical students who enter PCSP in October 2007 will graduate with a Doctor of Osteopathic Degree in 2010. Graduates will continue their post-graduate education through a three-year residency program at selected hospitals.

LECOM will track the progress of these students after they graduate, through their residencies and into family practice. How well these pioneers of primary care perform will determine whether LECOM and other medical colleges can adapt to provide the numbers of family physicians that our nation's health care system needs.

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Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Announces New Accelerated Physician Assistant Pathway

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is taking another innovative step toward encouraging more individuals to become physicians at a cost savings to the students. LECOM has received the approval for an accelerated three-year medical school curriculum for Certified Physician Assistants to obtain a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree.
The American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation has approved the Accelerated Physician Assistant Pathway (APAP). The College has begun recruiting PAs to fill 12 openings for the Class of 2014 when school starts in July 2011. This will be the fifth student-centered learning pathway developed for osteopathic medical students by LECOM, a leader in innovative, affordable medical education.
The pathway concept came from the LECOM Master of Science in Medical Education program and was designed by LECOM graduate Mark Kauffman DO, MS Med Ed, PA. Dr. Kauffman will direct the pathway, which will enable physician assistants who seek to earn osteopathic medicine degrees to do so in an accelerated, three-year program.

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Jewish Healthcare Foundation to Establish Pittsburgh's First Center for Complementary Learning

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation has earmarked $200,000 to establish a Center for Complementary Learning in Health Care. The new Center is intended to serve as a prototype for others that would give the region's students exposure to economic sectors in which there are jobs, while providing employers and educators an opportunity to collaborate to prepare students for the demands of the workplace. The health careers Center will foster partnerships between schools, employers and community organizations to give students the complementary, hands-on learning opportunities they need to better understand healthcare occupations as well as to find out about the educational requirements for pursuing these jobs. The first such partnership, to be developed in Pittsburgh's East End, would begin a demonstration project during 2007.

Among other things, the partnerships would call on employers to clearly define the "skills gap" they confront in recruiting employees and would call on schools to develop curricula that meet employers'requirements.

State projections suggest that some subsectors of the healthcare industry will expand by as much as 20 percent by 2012. Already, however, healthcare employers report difficulty filling jobs that require a high school diploma because as few as 10 percent to 20 percent of applicants have the necessary skills in reading, math and communications.

Expectations among particpating schools, employers and students could be set forth in 'contracts' so that rigorous standards are set, understood and achieved.

Complementary learning opportunities for students would include both exposure and experience: speakers, open houses, field trips, job shadowing, mentoring and internships, among other things. Advanced opportunities such as internships would be reserved for high school students, but opportunities for exposure to career information could begin as early as elementary school.

The healthcare learning center will be established and run by Health Careers Futures (HCF), an operating arm of JHF. The Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board encouraged HCF to take on this role because of its experience in developing programs to stabilize and strengthen the region's healthcare workforce.

HCF would build on models such as those developed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The hope is that success with a Center for Complementary Learning in Healthcare might pave the way for additional centers in other fields likely to provide job opportunities for students in the region, such as financial services, biotechnology or information technology.

"It's very hard for many students to get any first-hand knowledge of a field that offers career possibilities," said David Malone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Financial Group and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board. "These centers would serve as pathways to sectors where projections indicate the region will need employees."

"There's no better example of an industry where we can help students find rewarding, jobs with established career ladders than healthcare," said JHF President and Chief Executive Karen Feinstein. "This also is a sector whose hiring needs already exceed the pool of qualified applicants."

Dr. Feinstein said that the Center will provide a "missing link" that connects the academics of traditional schooling with the skill demands, productivity and meaning of real work. "We're gratified that the Conference and the Three Rivers WIB recognize the leadership that HCF has provided in supporting the healthcare sector's employee recruitment and retention efforts," Dr. Feinstein added.

HCF grew out of a workforce summit organized nearly six years ago to assess the region's healthcare employment needs. Since then, it has developed "pipeline" programs to draw secondary school students into health careers and also has provided training to improve retention of incumbent workers. Under a grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, for example, HCF supports establishment of health career clubs in Fayette County high schools. HCF also distributes a "took-kit" and hosts a Web portal to acquaint students and adults with health career options.

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Heritage Valley Health System and Robert Morris University Reach Agreement on Proposed

Heritage Valley Health System (HVHS) and Robert Morris University (RMU) recently announced they have reached an agreement that will enable RMU to launch plans for a four-year school of osteopathic medicine in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Heritage Valley Health System agreement represents a long-term financial commitment specifically for the purpose of allowing RMU to meet the initial capital requirements that are associated with the start- up of a proposed medical school. This effort has been undertaken by HVHS and RMU to address a growing need for physicians.

"We are pleased that several months of discussion have resulted in a solid agreement," said Norm Mitry, President and CEO of HVHS. "We are committed to making this endeavor a success for the community, the health system and the University. We believe our plan makes sense for the residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania, our physicians and the future medical students of RMU."

"It is in the spirit of partnership that we enter into this historic agreement with Heritage Valley Health System," said RMU President Greg Dell'Omo. "This is truly a vision and a mandate for the future of medical education, not only for Pennsylvania, but for the entire nation. This partnership is a model others can turn to as the nation faces the challenge of providing an adequate number of physicians to treat patients. In this endeavor, we have been bold in our vision, bold in our partnership, and are prepared to be bold in our implementation."

RMU began the accreditation and approval process for the medical school in June of 2006 with applications to the national accreditation body, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

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Chatham College Launches New Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program

Responding to an increasing demand for occupational therapists with doctoral degrees, Chatham College has established the professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) through its School of Continuing Education (SCE) and the Occupational Therapy program, according to an announcement by Laura S. Armesto, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs.

The OTD is Chatham's third doctoral degree program, and the first cohort of 16 OTD students from across the country started the program earlier this September. The program's hybrid nature allows students to study from wherever they work or live during the academic year. "The field of occupational therapy is experiencing growth, and Chatham College is poised to offer a program for professionals who can learn part-time at home," Dr. Armesto explained. "The OTD, which is designed for occupational therapy clinicians or academicians who want to enhance their career, complements our Master of Occupational Therapy, which is our professional entry-level degree program."

"The professional OTD graduate will become a future leader in the occupational therapy profession through the program's emphasis on evidence based practice, business and marketing, theories of education/learning, and leadership." explained Joyce Salls, OTD, assistant professor and director of Chatham's Occupational Therapy programs. "The OTD provides an online experience that enables students to study with convenience and flexibility, and is enhanced with on-campus sessions limited to a five-day residency in the summer and a minimum 2-day visit at the end of the program for their capstone presentations to the community and Master of Occupational Therapy students."

For more information about the Chatham OTD, call (412) 365-1148 or 1-866-815-2050 ext. 1148 or visit http://sce.chatham.edu.

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Heritage Valley and CCBC Combine Radiology Schools

Heritage Valley Health System and the Community College of Beaver County recently announced that they have formed an academic partnership to offer a program in radiologic technology. Students will combine a college education in basic sciences at CCBC with didactic and technical training at the Heritage Valley Health System.

Norman F. Mitry, President and CEO of Heritage Valley Health System announced that agreement on this partnership was reached in late August, just in time for the fall semester classes. The merged program will provide an opportunity for the students to earn their radiologic technologist certificate from Heritage Valley Health System as well as an associate degree in applied technology from CCBC. Mitry acknowledged that this program is a tremendous example of community organizations working together. "The Community College had an urgent need for instructors and clinical space. Since Heritage Valley already had an established radiologic technician program, we were able to accommodate their students and enhance our program at the same time" Mitry noted. He also added "This program is a real win not only for both organizations but, more importantly, the students as well."

"We are very pleased to partner with the Community College of Beaver County and to have the opportunity to educate their students," said Rosemary Nolan, COO of Heritage Valley Beaver. "Diagnostic imaging is becoming such an important diagnostic tool; we need to educate and train more radiologic technicians to keep pace with this ever advancing field". Currently there is a total of forty-one students in this merged program.

For more information about Heritage Valley Health System, visit www.heritagevalley.org.