UF Pre-Health Blog: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) June 2023 E-Newsletter

WVSOM graduates 177 in Class of 2023

When students in this year’s graduating class began their medical education in summer 2019, none of them could have predicted that just a few months after their first labs and lectures, a global pandemic would alter their studies and reshape the practice of health care.

Four years later, 177 students crossed the stage to accept their diplomas, having weathered months of isolation from their classmates, modifications to the way their education was delivered and changes to medical priorities. During the school’s 46^th annual Commencement Ceremony on May 5, they gathered with families and friends to celebrate their transition into resident physicians, where they will train in their specialty of choice for at least three years.

Leah Smith, president of the Class of 2023, addressed her fellow graduates in the ceremony. She spoke of the difficulties she and her peers faced during their years in medical school, but said those events gave them a sense of perseverance that will help them succeed in the next stages of their careers.

“Our time here has been extremely different from those before us, yet we’ve continued to learn efficiently at each stage of our training. Not only did the pandemic change our process to become physicians, it has affected the way we will practice medicine throughout the course of our careers,” Smith said. “We’ve only finished a small part of our journey, but we should be proud of how far we’ve come.”

Robert Foster, D.O., FACOFP, WVSOM’s assistant dean for osteopathic medical education and a long-beloved campus figure, was the event’s keynote speaker. In his last Commencement Ceremony before retiring after more than four decades of service to the school, Foster recalled how his own path to a lifetime in osteopathic medicine took him from his native Arizona to his adopted state of West Virginia.

The Class of 2023 achieved a 100 percent residency placement rate, with all 177 graduates selected for programs in which they’ll receive postgraduate training. Sixty percent of this year’s graduates are entering primary care specialties.

Students now can earn a dual D.O./MBA degree

WVSOM has entered into a partnership with the University of Charleston that will allow its students to supplement their D.O. degree with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree through a program that lasts a total of five years. The D.O./MBA program will begin in July and will be available to any second-year WVSOM student in good academic standing.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said the agreement allows the school to better serve students who are motivated to learn about the business side of health care.

“Today’s medical students want the flexibility to seek out additional education that will help them build successful practices,” Nemitz said. “The University of Charleston is an outstanding institution, and we’re happy to work with their administration to offer this option to our hard-working future physicians.”

The partnership establishes a path for students to attend osteopathic medical school for two years of preclinical education before starting a 10-month online program at the University of Charleston, leading to the awarding of an MBA degree. Following completion of the MBA program, students will return to WVSOM to complete third- and fourth-year studies at rotation sites in the school’s Statewide Campus, where learning occurs in clinical settings such as physician offices, medical centers and hospitals.

Brian Griffith, Ph.D., an associate professor in WVSOM’s Department of Biomedical Sciences who serves as the school’s director of affiliated programs, said the dual degree program positions WVSOM to produce medical students who have the business skills to build successful careers. It will also give students an advantage during the residency selection process that takes place before the completion of medical school.

“Health care knowledge is only one part of being a successful physician, so earning two degrees will better prepare our students to enter the health care profession,” Griffith said. “Learning about managing businesses will give them a better understanding of how to run an individual or group practice, or to work in health care administration. We also hope the program will help students be selected for top-tier residency programs, because they will have an additional degree.”

WVSOM is focus of PBS NewsHour segment

A segment of PBS NewsHour titled “Next Generation of Doctors Prepares to Tackle Rural Health Care Shortage in West Virginia” was part of the internationally broadcast program’s “Rural Rx” series, which explores the forces shaping rural health care in America.

The segment pointed out that nearly two-thirds of communities with shortages of primary care physicians are in rural areas. As a school whose mission includes an emphasis on producing students prepared to practice in rural areas, WVSOM was selected as a focus of a segment devoted to West Virginia. Filming took place in March and included interviews with students and administrators.

Abundance Hunt, of Lewisburg, W.Va., is a student in WVSOM’s Class of 2024 and a member of the school’s Rural Health Initiative. Earlier this year, Hunt received a Foundation Scholar award, a financial incentive given to students who plan to stay in West Virginia to practice after residency. She said in the segment that rural physicians often form bonds with their patients that extend beyond clinical settings.

“There’s so much more to medicine than just going to the doctor, and that’s a lot to do with the trust and the relationship that they have, especially with rural physicians,” Hunt said. “They are a big part of the community. They are who people trust.”

Another WVSOM Class of 2024 student participating in the Rural Health Initiative is Travis Steerman, of Philippi, W.Va. Steerman, who in 2022 was honored for his participation in the Community Outreach and Relief Effort program for service to underserved communities, worked for 13 years as a coal miner and now hopes to become a psychiatrist. He said in the segment that the Mountain State’s health challenges can be addressed from within.

“There’s a mental health crisis in West Virginia, a drug crisis in West Virginia, an addiction crisis in general in West Virginia,” Steerman said. “[It’s important to] do your part, stay here, help the communities that raised you, give back to them and help them.”

The PBS NewsHour piece can be viewed at the PBS website.