2025-2030 VCOM Strategic Plan

Strategic Objective 4.3: Support resident opportunities for participation in research and scholarly activity. Action Steps: 4.3.1. Develop and provide resident online educational program on research methods annually. 4.3.2. Encourage resident research poster presentations on each campus during the annual research day, with opportunity for resident awards. 4.3.3. Provide technical assistance for resident research where needed through the VCOM Research Office.

Strategic Goal 5: Serve as an advocate of osteopathic medicine, rural health, and affordable, accessible healthcare for all.

Strategic Objective 5.1: Increase the number of VCOM graduates entering practice in our target region, with attention to rural and medically underserved areas. Action Steps: 5.1.1. Create a new awareness campaign for “What is a DO?”. 5.1.2. Advocate for osteopathic medicine, rural health, and affordable accessible healthcare for all, in all marketing plans through written communications and multimedia for the website, publications, social media, and distribution to community publications and media. 5.1.3. Build a robust scholarship program for students who will enter practice in rural or medically underserved areas in our target region. Strategic Objective 5.2: Increase the number of osteopathic colleges involved in research, the number of DO principal investigators, and the number of osteopathic-focused research proposals to NIH. Action Steps: 5.2.1. Increase awareness of and opportunities for osteopathic research through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). 5.2.2. Continue to advocate for national osteopathic organizations to end "credential diversity disparity” in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding recipients. 5.2.3. Encourage osteopathic faculty to enroll in NIH's Early Career Reviewer Program (ECR). 5.2.4. Develop materials and resources to support early career osteopathic physicians to develop and refine their research ideas and submit proposals. 5.2.5. Understand and disseminate NCCIH’s expanded definition of integrative health, which now includes "whole person health, that is, empowering individuals, families, communities, and populations to improve their health in multiple interconnected domains: biological, behavioral, social, and environmental." 5.2.6. Increase efforts for representation of osteopathic physicians on NIH committees beyond NCCIH.

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