Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Established	2002
Type	Private
Academic staff	16 DO, 18 MD, 13 PhD, 2 MD-PhD, 3 DVM-PhD, 1 MD-MPH (full & part-time on-campus faculty)
Students	600
Location	Blacksburg, Virginia, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
Campus	Rural
Website	www.vcom.vt.edu

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), formally named the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a private, non-profit osteopathic medical school with two campuses: the Virginia Campus (VCOM-VC) located in Blacksburg, Virginia and the Carolinas Campus (VCOM-CC) located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Virginia Campus is located in the Corporate Research Center of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The school is one of 25 colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States, and one of four located in the Appalachian Region. On June 2, 2007, VCOM graduated its first class of 139 students.

History and Mission

The school was founded in 2002, when Virginia Tech and the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation worked together to start up a new private school of osteopathic medicine called the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). The mission of the school is to help alleviate the critical shortage of physicians in Appalachia. The school places primary recruiting on students from a rural Appalachian background, particularly the rural sections of central and southwestern Virginia, Piedmont North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. While students are fully prepared to specialize in any division of medicine, the primary focus of the college is the training of primary care physicians to serve a rural population.

VCOM is incorporated as a private, non-profit institution with no state interest, but it is very closely affiliated with Virginia Tech on an operational level.

In 2010 the school founded a "branch campus" at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. By terming the operation a "branch" the school was accredited from the start, but it is essentially a separate institution.

Curriculum and Academics

While students at VCOM are educated in all basic medical sciences (as are their MD counterparts), VCOM students also receive approximately 200 extra hours of musculoskeletal/neuromuscular training. The school uses a system of "blocks" as opposed to semesters. Each block concerns a specific organ system, incorporating anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology, pathology, and OMM courses in relation to that system. The first 2 years consist of 8 blocks. The school also offers a course in addiction medicine, and offers missionary medicine rotations. VCOM has permanent clinics located in Veron, Dominican Republic and Tegulcigalpa, Honduras. The school also hosts occasional mission trips to Guatemala and plans to offer trips to Africa in the future.

Admissions

Admission is based on an applicant's GPA, entrance interviews, and MCAT score. Demonstration of a history of compassion, empathy, dedication, patient care, orientation to a rural or primary care medicine, and research is also considered in the admissions process.

Relationship With Host Institutions

The Virginia Campus is located in the Corporate Research Center, adjacent to the Virginia Tech campus. As a part of a long term agreement, students are granted the same benefits as Virginia Tech students in terms of use of the library, recreational facilities, student center, arts and theatre programs, intramural programs, and access to Virginia Tech football and other athletic event tickets. The school features Tech's "Hokie Bird" mascot as its own and the school's website is a part of vt.edu, however the school is private and receives no state support from Virginia. Additionally, Virginia Tech is affiliated with the private VT-Carilion School of Medicine granting the MD degree, but off campus in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Carolinas Campus has a similar relationship with the private Wofford College and also participates in the "College Town Consortium" with five other local colleges.

External links

• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
• VCOM Student Portal
• AACOM College Information