In 2005, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine founded its only branch campus in Suwanee. What’s a 110-year-old Philadelphia osteopathic college doing in Georgia?
“The [private nonprofit] college came South because of Georgia and region’s great need for primary care physicians,” said John Fleischmann, Georgia campus executive officer.
While Georgia is the nation’s 10th most populous state, it ranks 40th in physician supply per 100,000 population.
“Georgia needed more graduate medical education programs, and we’re trying to remedy that,” Fleischmann said.
Osteopathic medicine is a holistic approach that focuses on the body, mind and spirit.
“There are doctors of osteopathic medicine practicing in all 50 states and in all specialties, but our focus is on primary care. Sixty-five percent of our graduates go into primary care, and that’s what Georgia needs,” Fleischmann said.
A Georgia native, Fleischmann has overseen the purchase of the 20-acre Suwanee campus and the building of a 150,000 square-foot facility there. In 2005, the college started with 86 doctor of osteopathic medicine students, and has graduated three classes. Today, its 687 students are enrolled in medical school, pharmacy school and in biomedical sciences as well as organizational development and leadership programs.
Since opening, the college has doubled the size of its library, enhanced its lab and research facilities, increased parking and bought additional land and buildings. “We build like crazy every summer when the students aren’t here,” he said.
Applications are competitive. This year, the college accepted 135 students (out of 3,100 applicants) into osteopathic medicine and 93 (out of 1,541) in the pharmacy program.
“Our students come from rigorous pre-medicine or pre-pharmacy undergraduate programs where they have done very well in the sciences,” Fleischman said. “They’ve also scored well on the MCAT or Pharm-CAT entrance exams. We interview about 350 applicants to determine their fit for our programs.”
Tuition is about $40,000 a year for medical students and $30,000 a year for pharmacy students.
The college, which is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, pursues its mission to recruit, train and retain more health care professionals in Georgia in several ways. Its master’s degree and certificate of graduate study in biomedical sciences has strengthened the credentials and acceptance rates of applicants to other medical schools across the South. Collaborative physician assistant programs with Brenau University and several other Georgia colleges are under way.
“One of the biggest bottlenecks to keeping physicians in Georgia is the shortage of residency programs in the state,” Fleischman said. “When students go out of state for their residency training, we rarely see them come back to practice.”
The college just launched its first osteopathic graduate medical residency program with Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins, which will make it a teaching hospital and provide cutting-edge care. Six residents started in June.
“We’re upping the game in Georgia and that will improve health care for all of us,” Fleischmann said.
For information, go to www.pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500.
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