Medical education Osteopathic medical students may be graduating early to fight COVID-19 Accrediting body approves steps for colleges of osteopathic medicine to allow fourth-year students to enter the health care workforce early. March 31, 2020Tuesday Rose Raymond Contact Rose Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Topics COVID-19 To allow states to expand their physician workforce during this critical time, the AOA’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), which accredits the nation’s 38 osteopathic medical schools, will allow colleges of osteopathic medicine to offer early graduation to certain medical students in their fourth year to increase the health care workforce. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the national physician shortage and is straining the human resources of hospitals across the country, especially in areas hard-hit by the pandemic such as New York and Washington. ‘Eager to serve the nation’ “Many osteopathic medical students are eager to serve the nation during this difficult time, and a significant number have already met their institution’s criteria for graduation,” said Josh Prober, JD, AOA senior vice president of accreditation and general counsel. Typically, fourth-year students at most colleges of osteopathic medicine graduate in May or June and start residency training in late June or early July. COMs to decide During a special meeting, COCA’s executive committee approved an option for college of osteopathic medicine (COM) deans to allow fourth-year students who have satisfactorily completed their COM’s requirements for graduation and have been recommended for graduation by an approved body, such as the faculty association, to graduate early and join the health care workforce fighting COVID-19. “COCA recognizes that individual COM leaders are in the best position to determine whether students are qualified for graduation and to make accommodations for their student body, so we have left this important decision to the individual COMs,” Prober said. COCA is recognized by the United States Department of Education as the accreditor of colleges of osteopathic medicine. Related reading: Online CME and learning resources for DOs and osteopathic medical students First combined match results in 6,215 DO PGY1 residents More in Training 6 states in 12 months: A guide to life on the road during fourth year Fourth year is what you make it. Rachel Pray, OMS IV, shares how she embraced travel and adventure as much as possible during her fourth year. Being a DO in a heavily MD residency program: What surprised me I was incredibly nervous to join a large MD-dominant internal medicine residency, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much my osteopathic training helped me excel. Previous articleCDC provides DOs with update on the federal response to COVID-19 Next articleHow to do telemedicine in the time of COVID-19
6 states in 12 months: A guide to life on the road during fourth year Fourth year is what you make it. Rachel Pray, OMS IV, shares how she embraced travel and adventure as much as possible during her fourth year.
Being a DO in a heavily MD residency program: What surprised me I was incredibly nervous to join a large MD-dominant internal medicine residency, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much my osteopathic training helped me excel.