PCSOM ranked among top schools in rural medicine

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (PCSOM) has earned high marks as one of the top 20 medical schools in the nation in rural medicine.

The rankings were released as part of U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 online edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” PCSOM also ranked fourth in the country in the percentage of graduates entering primary care residencies.

“We’re keeping the promise we made when we opened the medical school, to help ease the physician shortage in rural Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Boyd R. Buser, D.O., vice president and dean of PCSOM.

“The establishment of the medical school in 1997 was the result of the hard work of a number of visionary leaders, including then Gov. Paul Patton, Burlin Coleman and the founding dean, the late Dr. John Strosnider, as well as the extraordinary generosity of Paintsville, Ky., attorney G. Chad Perry and others,” said Buser. “Their efforts have had a tremendous impact.”

Since PCSOM accepted its first class, the school has produced more than 500 physicians in the first nine graduating classes. Approximately 150 of those physicians have finished their residency programs and are practicing medicine. Since the first graduates entered practice in 2004, more than 60 new physicians have opened offices within a two-hour drive of Pikeville. Several more have located in rural communities in Western Kentucky and throughout Appalachia. The vast majority of PCSOM graduates are working in primary care, mostly in medically underserved areas.

Interest in the school continues to grow, according to Buser. PCSOM received a record number of applications for admission to its incoming class, representing a 17 percent increase over the number of applications received in last year’s admissions cycle.

In developing the U.S. News & World Report rankings, the 126 medical schools fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (granting the M.D. degree) plus the 20 schools of osteopathic medicine fully accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (granting the D.O. degree) were surveyed in the fall 2008 and early 2009. The rural medicine rankings are based solely on ratings by medical school deans and senior faculty from the list of schools surveyed. They each identified up to 10 schools offering the best programs in rural medicine and other primary care practice areas.

Osteopathic medicine (D.O.), like allopathic medicine (M.D.), provides fully-qualified and licensed physicians who serve in a variety of settings, from family practice in small towns to specialists at the largest hospitals and research institutions. Osteopathic medicine’s overall philosophy tends to attract students who are more interested in primary care, which is the greatest need in rural Kentucky and Central Appalachia.

“We realize there is much to be done to provide an adequate number of primary care physicians for rural Kentucky and Central Appalachia,” said Buser. “We are working with the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, other medical schools, hospitals and medical centers throughout Kentucky and Appalachia to help fill this need. We know the Pikeville model works, and other medical schools – from Blacksburg, Va., to Yakima, Wash., – are following our example.”

The Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine was established in 1997 with a mission to provide men and women with an osteopathic medical education that emphasizes primary care, encourages research, promotes lifelong scholarly activity, and produces graduates who are committed to serving the health care needs of communities in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian regions.