PSU, local doctors expect benefits from med school in Joplin
Friday, June 3, 2016 2:00 AM
News
Pittsburg, KS
As work moves ahead on the establishment of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences medical school in Joplin, Pittsburg physicians, Pittsburg State University faculty and PSU administrators say they are excited about the possibilities.
Faculty in PSU’s pre-med program, which has a longstanding relationship with KCUMB, said the nearby campus offers PSU students broader educational opportunities. Some local physicians, meanwhile, believe the medical school could help address what they describe as a growing shortage of primary care physicians locally.
Virginia Rider, a University Professor in biology who advises students in PSU’s pre-medical program, said Pittsburg State has had a strong relationship with KCUMB for many years and the new campus in Joplin will add even more opportunities for Pittsburg State pre-med students.
“Our graduates have had very good success in being accepted to KCU for a number of years,” Rider said. “Since 2000, about 37 of our graduates have been admitted to KCU and of those, quite a few went through the Partners Program.”
The Partners Program is an articulation agreement between PSU and KCUMB that allows PSU biology majors to apply to the medical school in their sophomore year. Based on scholarships and interviews, two students are offered early admission to the KCUMB College of Medicine during their junior year. Those students skip their senior year on the PSU campus, but earn a PSU degree upon the successful completion of their first year of medical school.
Brett Dunbar is a Pittsburg native and both a Pittsburg State and KCUMB-COM grad who returned to Pittsburg to practice medicine in 2013. He said the strong relationship between PSU and KCU made his transition to med school easier.
“The guidance I received from advisers and faculty and the experience I had at Pitt State helped me put together a really sound application,” Dunbar said. “We had different classes at PSU that made us really well prepared for medical school. It seemed that everyone I knew who came from Pitt State was really well prepared.”
Bruce Dubin, D.O., executive vice president for academic affairs, provost and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at KCUMB, said he expects the already solid relationship between KCU and PSU to continue to grow.
“We have had a long-term relationship with Pittsburg State,” Dubin said. “This has been a pipeline program facilitating the application of Pittsburg State students into the medical school. I see our relationship growing in a very positive direction. Wonderful opportunities exist. Preferentially, we hope to recruit students from the region to study medicine, as well as eventually work as practicing physicians in the area.”
PSU Provost Lynette Olson said Pittsburg State has been a strong supporter of the establishment of the Joplin campus since it was first proposed.
“Pittsburg State has worked with the leaders of the KCU-Joplin initiative throughout the process and are extremely supportive of and excited about this project,” Olson said. “We anticipate the KCU-Joplin campus will enhance our longstanding relationship to benefit our students by providing expanded opportunities. We are also excited about the positive outcomes having this program in our area will bring to medical services in the region.”
That’s good news for Pittsburg physician William Sullivan, another PSU and KCUMB-COM graduate who has advocated for a Joplin campus for many years.
“We have a critical physician shortage developing in our community,” Sullivan said. “We’ve had a number of doctors retire in recent years and right now we are short eight primary care physicians.”
Sullivan added that having the medical school campus so close could also boost PSU’s pre-medical programs.
“Students are already attracted to PSU because it has a very successful, high-quality pre-medical program that dates well back into the 1960s,” Sullivan said. “Now it can also be a conduit through which those students can matriculate into one of the largest medical schools in the U.S. with a campus just a half hour away.”
Dubin said the proximity of the Joplin campus will make it possible to offer special educational opportunities for PSU students.
“There will be opportunities for joint educational programs, simulation, as well as research opportunities in the future,” Dubin said. “There will be opportunities for KCU-Joplin students to rotate in Pittsburg health facilities and Pittsburg State students will be invited to many of our educational seminars and community-based presentations.”
Dubin said the support of PSU, the Pittsburg medical community and the region has been an important factor in bringing the medical school campus to Joplin. It is just the beginning of what he sees as a continuing strong regional partnership.
“Community support has been and will continue to be an important part of the evolution of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences – Joplin campus,” Dubin said. “In many respects, I see the Joplin campus and the regional community coming together to form what I might term a ‘Health Science Center Without Walls.’ This is an exciting concept in which we all work towards, and benefit from, collaborative relationships. This will include many aspects of education and healthcare delivery, including partnerships in community health, health screenings, healthcare delivery, faculty recruitment, the sharing of faculty, and community development.”
Work is ongoing to convert the building that Mercy Hospital used following the Joplin tornado in 2011 into the new KCUMB-COM Joplin campus. The school is expected to have an enrollment of about 150 and the first classes are set to begin in 2017.