Building a Commitment to Training: The Proposed Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine continues to progress as the development gains speed.
Having a college of osteopathic medicine in Dothan will help fill a critical need for primary care physicians in Alabama and bring economic growth to the region.
When Cheryl and Ray Gibson of Dothan realized their children wanted to be physicians, they enthusiastically supported Gregory and Amanda as they began applying to medical colleges nationwide.
The siblings chose to take the osteopathic route and become DOs – Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. After graduating osteopathic medical school in Florida, Gregory is currently doing his residency in Ohio. Amanda is in DO school in Tennessee. Cheryl never imagined there might be an osteopathic medical school in Dothan that could train and keep her children in the Wiregrass.
But that is an option for students in the future, as the Houston County Healthcare Authority moves forward in the establishment of a proposed 4-year osteopathic college of medicine.
“A college of medicine here absolutely would have been a very attractive option for them,” Cheryl said. “It would have lent itself to their remaining in the area and it would be more financially practical.”
The establishment of the proposed Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine is designed to fill a critical need for primary care doctors in the state. To achieve an ideal ratio of patients-to-doctors, Alabama needs about 400 additional primary care physicians. More than 60 percent of all DOs go into primary care and many of these doctors serve rural markets. The remaining 40 percent specialize in areas like general surgery, neurosurgery, oncology and anesthesia.
Primary care physicians, typically the first point of contact for patients, provide a wide scope of continuing care for those with any undiagnosed symptoms or health concerns. Primary care includes diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance, and patient education. Primary care physicians are often trained in the specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics or pediatrics.
This shortage of primary care physicians is being made larger through the aging of the population – Baby Boomers are becoming patients at a faster pace and doctors born during these years are now looking at retiring. The new national healthcare plan could add up to 1.2 million formerly uninsured Alabama residents to the healthcare rolls.
Several years ago, the state recognized this problem and funded the Alabama Medical Education Consortium (AMEC) to specifically meet primary care shortages by providing a pipeline for qualified individuals to attend medical or dental school through a collaborative relationship with osteopathic colleges of medicine/dentistry. SAMC is a core teaching site under AMEC, which has 163 medical students placed in various communities.
Alabama has two existing medical colleges. The University of Alabama at Birmingham admits 176 students each year, while The University of South Alabama in Mobile accepts 74 students a year. The proposed college of osteopathic medicine in Dothan would open with slots for 150 students.
Training for both DOs and MDs is similar, with DOs taking a more whole-body wellness approach focused on prevention. There are 28 colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States, with 10 of those opening since 2000.
Ron Owen, chief executive officer for Southeast Alabama Medical Center, said the college hopes to attract potential medical students from a 100-mile radius of Dothan. “We want to grow our own. Those who train here are more likely to stay here,” he said. “This proposed college will allow us to improve our physician recruitment efforts and enhance our quality of care as well as our image in the Southeast.”
For the Gibsons, it would have been an opportunity to keep their children close – though they still may return. “With both having been raised here, they have strong ties to the Wiregrass,” Cheryl said.
If the accreditation process and construction remain on schedule, the college could gain full accreditation upon the graduation of the original class in 2016. Students at the proposed college would be in Dothan for their first two years of training and their last two years of schooling will be in community clinical settings and hospitals throughout Alabama.
The proposed college would have a faculty and staff of about 40, with another 20 support personnel jobs being created. Hundreds of jobs will also be created during the construction phase. The dean for the proposed school is Dr. Craig Lenz, DO, FAODME.