VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

VCOM campuses utilize a common curriculum that benefits from the work of faculty experts across the campuses to assure a high quality and dynamic, systems-integrated, curriculum. VCOM believes students seek diverse learning experiences; therefore, the VCOM curriculum includes a variety of learning experiences including lectures, laboratory, small group experiences, simulation, on-line independent learning experiences, early clinical experiences, and community and global health service opportunities. In the clinical years, VCOM partners with core teaching hospitals and affiliated clinical practices, engaging physician faculty located in the Southern Appalachian region to provide hands-on clinical learning opportunities in all core clinical specialties. The clinical program is highly structured with administrative oversight by a Director of Student Medical Education, support through clinical coordinators, and a core clinical faculty who work directly with the VCOM Clinical Chairs on each campus to assure students experience a quality clinical training program. VCOM also supports the educational continuum with a consortium of affiliated graduate medical education programs and close to 400 first year GME positions within that consortium. Embracing the mission, VCOM believes students benefit from service-based educational programs. VCOM faculty and students provide preventive health programs and medical care to medically underserved and rural populations in the southern Appalachian and Delta region states through free clinics, community health clinics, shelters, and remote community centers, and through mini-medical schools to rural high schools. VCOM also provides students with the opportunity to learn and serve in international developing countries. The VCOM international outreach program includes opportunities to participate in sustainable healthcare in one of three year-round clinical programs in Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. VCOM also shares medical education programs with the medical schools in each of those countries, leading to improved medical care and improved cultural understanding between the medical communities. Collectively, the VCOM international clinics and the Appalachian programs provide care to thousands of patients each year who would otherwise be without access to care. VCOM has won multiple awards as a leader in rural health, global health, and in providing healthcare for underserved populations. VCOM has many other award-winning programs such as the sports medicine program, with a highly competitive fellowship and faculty physicians who provide care for the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Radford University Highlanders, the Auburn University Tigers, the U.S. Olympic Ski Team, PGA tournaments, and now the ULM Warhawks. Students have the opportunity to work with and learn from top sports medicine doctors. VCOM also has a neuro-musculoskeletal medicine (NMM) residency where residents learn from our top NMM and sports medicine faculty. Both programs offer an excellent education, preparing them for not only practice but a career in academic medicine and research. VCOM is on the path to becoming a leading osteopathic medical school in research, increasing our grants annually. With an increasing number of research programs across the campuses, VCOM is providing meaningful contributions to the body of scientific research and advances in medicine and VCOM’s funded programs research expenditures exceeded ten million dollars in the last year. Research is an important duty for all academic faculty and VCOM faculty have made significant contributions through publications. All VCOM campuses are fully accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the only U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting body for osteopathic colleges. VCOM is committed to the Mission, to the well-being of our students and to producing high-quality physicians. We are proud of our accomplishments and hope you will review the website to see what has been accomplished by our faculty and students. I encourage you to read more about VCOM and the amazing opportunities it provides.

5