Undergraduate osteopathic medical education

              646 • JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 Singer • Medical education
This article presents basic data about
the 19 colleges of osteopathic
medicine (COMs) in the academic years
2000-2001. Information in this article
has been adapted from the American
Association of Colleges of Osteopathic
Medicine (AACOM)/American Osteo-pathic
Association (AOA) annual osteo-pathic
medical school questionnaire for
the 2000-2001 academic year and fiscal
year 2000. In addition, AACOM’s 2000
Annual Statistical Report and its histor-ical
database compiled from previous
surveys have been used to prepare this
article.
Osteopathic medical school
applicants
In a continuation of the downward trend
that started in 1997, the number of osteo-pathic
medical school applicants declined
for the fifth consecutive year in 2001. At
its peak in 1996, the number of appli-cants
reached 10,781. That number
dropped to 10,764 in 1997; 9554 in 1998;
8396 in 1999; 7708 in 2000; and 7259 in
2001.* This represents a decrease of 33%
between 1996 and 2001 (Table 1).
The number of underrepresented
minority applicants has been decreasing,
but not as fast as the total applicant pool.
In the 1997-1998 academic year, under-represented
minority applicants reached
its highest number of 984. That number
decreased to 936 in the 1998 entering
class and to 790 in 1999 before rebound-ing
in 2000 to 829. But the decline in
underrepresented minority applicants
continued in 2001 to 693. Between 1997
and 2001, the number of underrepre-sented
minority applicants declined by
almost 30%.
In past years, the five colleges with
the most applications received were the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine (PCOM), the Chicago College
of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM), the
New York College of Osteopathic
Medicine (NYCOM), the Kirksville Col-lege
of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM),
and the University of Health Sciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine
(UHSCOM). But the total number of
applicants received by these five schools—
as well as most of the other 14 colleges of
osteopathic medicine—dropped again in
the 2000-2001 academic year. Only the
West Virginia School of Osteopathic
Medicine (WVSOM) and the University
of New England College of Osteopathic
Medicine (UNECOM) showed an
increase in the number of applications
for their 2000 entering classes.
Enrollment
First-year and total enrollment contin-ued
to rise as the most recently estab-lished
schools in Arizona (AZCOM), San
Francisco (TUCOM), and Kentucky
(PCSOM) grow to their full complement
of students (Table 2; Figure). First-year
enrollment in the 1998-1999 academic
year was 2745; in the 1999-2000 aca-demic
year, first-year enrollment rose
3.8% to 2848, and to 2927 in 2000-
2001, an increase of 2.8%. Total enroll-ment
in 2000-2001 grew to 10,817, an
increase of 4.1%.
The percentage of ethnic minority stu-dents
rose in 2000-2001 to 23.9% total
enrollment (Table 3). Ethnic minorities
(African-Americans, Asian/Pacific Island-ers,
Hispanics, and Native Americans
students) represented 22.9% of the total
enrollment in the 1998-1999 academic
year, and 22.8% of the total enrollment
in the 1999-2000 academic year.
The number of female osteopathic
medical students enrolled at the COMs
continues to increase and reached a peak
of 41.1% of all students in 2000-2001
(Table 4). In the 1998-1999 academic
year, the total number of women enrolled
was 3862 (39.1% of all students), and
4281 in the 1999-2000 academic year
(40.2% of all students).
Geographic source of first-year
students
More than half of all first-year osteo-pathic
medical students seek medical edu-cation
in their home state. Of the 2848
first-year students enrolled at the 19
COMs during 1999-2000 academic year,
57.8% were residents of the state in
which the COM was located. During the
2000-2001 academic year, 55% of the
first-year students were from the state in
which the COM was located. Western
University of Health Sciences/College of
Osteopathic Medicine (WesternU/
COMP) and Michigan State University
Medical education
ndergraduate osteopathic medical education
ALLEN SINGER, PhD
U
Dr Singer is vice president of Research &
Information Services, American Association
of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Chevy
Chase, Md.
Correspondence to Allen Singer, PhD,
American Association of Colleges of Osteo-pathic
Medicine, 5550 Friendship Blvd, Chevy
Chase, MD 20815-7231.
* The number of applicants in 2001 includes those
whose applications were submitted to AACOMAS as
well as those who applied directly to the University
of North Texas Health Science Center College of
Osteopathic Medicine. This school did not partici-pate
in AACOM’s centralized application service this
year, though it did participate in prior years.
Singer • Medical education JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 • 647
Table 1
Applicants to Osteopathic Schools Participating in the AACOM Application Service—
Ethnic Groups and Women by Entering Year*
Group 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
African-American 421 434 442 378 414 335
Hispanic 436 448 416 342 343 290
Native American 90 102 78 70 72 68
Total underrepresented
minority 947 984 936 790 829 693
Percent underrepresented
minority 8.8 9.1 9.8 9.4 10.8 10.0
White, non-Hispanic 7320 7224 6173 5583 5099 4731
Asian American/
Pacific Islander 2051 2107 1950 1592 1346 1226
Unknown 463 449 495 431 434 609†
Total all groups 10,781 10,764 9554 8396 7708 7259
No. of women among
total applicants 4228 4293 3881 3518 3402 3151
Percent women 39.2 39.9 40.6 41.9 44.1 43.4
No. of COMs participating
in AACOMAS‡ 16 17 19 19 19 18
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Annual Statistical Report. Figures
reported here do not include applicants who applied directly to osteopathic medical colleges.
†Includes 177 applicants who applied only to the Texas school (UNTHSC), which did not participate in AACOMAS in 2001.
‡ Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine and Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine became
AACOMAS participants with the 1997-1998 entering class.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Entering year
No. of students
Source: AACOM Statistical Reports
2162 2217 2274
2535
2692 2745
2848 2927
Figure. Freshmen enrollment.
648 • JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 Singer • Medical education
College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU-COM)
had the highest percentages of in-state
students for the 2000-2001 aca-demic
years (94.7% and 94.4%,
respectively; Table 5). The University of
New England College of Osteopathic
Medicine (UNECOM) had the highest
percentage of out-of-state students in
2000-2001 (86%). Because of their spe-cial
funding relationships with the states,
the public college generally admit a much
higher proportion of state residents than
do the private schools.
College record of freshmen
Freshmen entering in the 2000-2001 aca-demic
year had a mean grade point aver-age
of 3.43, practically the same as the
previous class. Mean MCAT scores for
these freshmen were as follows: biologi-cal
science, 8.69; physical science, 8.18;
and verbal reasoning, 8.11. Only the
mean physical score was higher than that
of the previous freshmen class.
Faculty
The 19 COMs had 11,119 faculty mem-bers
in 2000-2001, including full-time,
part-time, and volunteer faculty. Most
faculty serving the COMs teach the clin-ical
sciences (93.1% in 1998-1999;
93.8% in 1999-2000; and 94.1% in
2000-2001), with the remainder in basic
sciences (6.9% in 1998-1999; 6.2% in
1999-2000; and 5.9% in 2000-2001).
The percentage of volunteer faculty
staffing the 19 COMs has increased in the
past 3 years, with 70.5% in 1998-1999,
76.5% in 1999-2000, and 78.8% in
2000-2001. General practice/family
medicine has been the department with
the largest concentration of full-time fac-ulty.
In 2000-2001, 16.3% of all full-time
faculty were in this department
(Table 6).
Tuition
For the academic year 2000-2001, tuition
Table 2
Number of Applications Received, First-Year Enrollment and Total Enrollment by School*†
No. of First-year Total
applications‡ enrollment enrollment
School 1999–2000 2000–2001 1999–2000 2000–2001 1999–2000 2000–2001
AZCOM 2669 2438 128 143 445 482
CCOM 3486 3105 163 170 622 640
DMU-COM 2689 2519 215 210 797 805
KCOM 3054 2724 177 156 610 616
LECOM 2864 2487 144 182 505 576
MSUCOM 2243 1923 123 125 507 523
NSU-COM 2815 2430 191 180 653 680
NYCOM§ 3198 2980 293 305 1007 1065
OSU-COM 1361 1162 92 91 353 352
OUCOM 2407 2246 115 107 415 416
PCOM 4280 3855 256 253 1005 1002
PCSOM 1782 1583 61 65 179 239
TUCOM 2595 2384 96 112 237 339
UHS/COM 3063 2639 224 232 864 871
UMDNJ/SOM 2113 1977 81 87 307 309
UNE/COM 2125 2143 117 121 460 463
UNTHSC 1485 1261 115 121 453 455
WesternU/COMP 2912 2539 180 190 695 699
WVSOM 1493 1553 77 77 274 285
Total 48,634 43,948 2848 2927 10,388 10,817
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Annual Statistical Reports.
†Full names of colleges with abbreviations appear in the Appendix.
‡The number of applications indicated is not an unduplicated count of applicants as in Table 1. The same applicant
reported here may be listed by several schools.
§Enrollment data include students in the Accelerated Program for Émigré Physicians (APEP).
Singer • Medical education JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 • 649
Table 4
Enrollment of Women at Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine*
Entering Total No. of Percent of
year enrollment women women
1989 6615 2056 31.1
1990 6792 2221 32.7
1991 7012 2340 33.4
1992 7375 2512 34.1
1993† 7822 2714 34.7
1994 8146 2870 35.2
1995 8475 3075 36.3
1996‡ 8961 3308 36.9
1997§ 9434 3591 38.1
1998 9882 3862 39.1
1999 10,388 4181 40.2
2000 10,817 4443 41.1
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Annual Statistical Reports.
†Data include LECOM, which enrolled its first class of 61 students in 1993, 17 of whom were women.
‡Data include the Accelerated Program for Émigré Physicians (APEP) at NYCOM and AZCOM’s first class of 103,
including 33 women.
§Data include PCSOM and TUCOM first classes of 60 students (14 women) and 66 students (26 women),
respectively.
Table 3
Total Enrollment of Minority Ethnic Groups* by School†‡
Minority
1999–2000 2000–2001
School No. % No. %
AZCOM 102 22.9 110 22.8
CCOM 183 29.4 185 28.9
DMU-COM 73 9.2 89 11.1
KCOM 122 20.0 110 17.9
LECOM 58 11.5 74 12.8
MSUCOM 113 22.3 113 21.6
NSU-COM 196 30.0 208 30.6
NYCOM§ 348 34.5 439 41.2
OSU-COM 65 18.4 69 19.6
OUCOM 92 22.2 102 24.5
PCOM 179 17.8 193 19.3
PCSOM 16 8.9 24 10.0
TUCOM 71 30.0 97 28.6
UHS/COM 97 11.2 95 10.9
UMDNJ/SOM 130 42.3 140 45.3
UNE/COM 43 9.3 44 9.5
UNTHSC/TCOM 188 41.5 174 38.2
WesternU/COMP 280 40.3 310 44.4
WVSOM 13 4.7 11 3.9
All schools 2369 22.8 2587 23.9
* Minority ethnic groups include African-Americans, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American students.
† Full names of colleges with abbreviations appear in the Appendix.
‡Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Annual Statistical Reports.
§Data includes students in the Accelerated Program for Émigré Physicians (APEP).
650 • JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 Singer • Medical education
Table 5
Number of State Residents and Nonresidents Enrolled in First Year by School*
1999–2000 2000–2001
No. of No. of Total No. of No. of Total
School† residents nonresidents No. residents nonresidents No.
AZCOM 43 85 128 42 101 143
CCOM 81 86 167 77 93 170
DMU/COM 50 165 215 51 159 210
KCOM 19 158 177 23 133 156
LECOM 92 52 144 73 109 182
MSUCOM 114 9 123 118 7 125
NSU-COM 116 75 191 84 96 180
NYCOM‡ 237 56 293 219 86 305
OSU-COM 79 13 92 77 14 91
OUCOM 103 12 115 95 12 107
PCOM 169 87 256 155 98 253
PCSOM 37 24 61 39 26 65
TUCOM 58 38 96 58 54 112
UHS/COM 61 163 224 67 165 232
UMDNJ/SOM 74 7 81 73 14 87
UNE/COM 16 101 117 17 104 121
UNTHSC/TCOM 104 11 115 109 12 121
WesternU/COMP 141 39 180 180 10 190
WVSOM 52 25 77 53 24 77
Total 1646 1202 2848 1610 1317 2927
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
Annual Statistical Reports.
†Full names of colleges with abbreviations appear in the Appendix.
‡Includes students in the Accelerated Program for Émigré Physicians (APEP).
averaged $12,410 for in-state residents in
public schools and $24,363 in private
schools. For out-of-state residents, tuition
averaged $25,972 in public schools and
$25,177 in private schools (Table 7).
Income and expenditures of
osteopathic medical colleges
The 19 COMs reported total revenue of
$695 million in fiscal year 2000, which
constitutes a 9.2% increase from 1999.
As in the past, tuition contributes sub-stantially
more to total revenues in the pri-vate
schools than it does in the public
schools, which draw more heavily from
state subsidies.
Students benefit from state govern-ment
funding, which continues to play an
important role in the fiscal health of
osteopathic medical education. The
Armed Forces also continues to be a sig-nificant
source of funds to students and
their schools through the Armed Forces
Health Professions Scholarship Program.
Total expenditures in fiscal year 2000
were approximately $673 million, up
14.7% from FY1999. Instruction con-tinues
to account for the largest portion
of expenditures.
Singer • Medical education JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 • 651
Table 6
Full-time Faculty Assignments by Discipline*
Percent of faculty assigned
Discipline 1999–2000 2000–2001
Anatomy 8.1 8.5
Biochemistry 4.6 4.7
Emergency medicine 1.3 1.0
General practice/family practice 15.7 16.3
Internal medicine 10.1 10.0
Microbiology 4.8 5.3
Obstetrics/gynecology 2.9 2.5
Osteopathic principles 5.9 6.3
Pathology 3.5 3.3
Pediatrics 3.7 4.0
Pharmacology 5.2 5.5
Physiology 5.7 5.5
Psychiatry 5.1 4.4
Radiology 2.0 1.6
Surgery (general) 3.7 3.8
Other† 15.4 14.7
Physical medicine/
Rehabilitation medicine 1.0 1.1
Preventive medicine/public health 1.2 1.4
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
Annual Statistical Reports.
†Includes anesthesiology, dermatology, geriatrics, neurology, ophthalmology, orthopedic,
surgery, otolaryngology, and urology.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
652 • JAOA • Vol 101 • No 11 • November 2001 Singer • Medical education
Table 7
Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Tuition*
(Subject to Change)
Tuition
School State residents Nonresidents
Private
AZCOM $26,700 $26,700
CCOM 22,816 27,711
DMU/COM 23,900 23,900
KCOM 24,950 24,950
LECOM 21,760 22,760
NSU-COM 20,122 24,815
NYCOM 24,000 24,000
PCOM 24,475 24,475
PCSOM 23,100 23,100
TUCOM 25,000 25,000
UHS/COM 27,775 27,775
UNE/COM 26,220 26,220
WesternU/COMP 25,900 25,900
Mean $24,363 $25,177
Public
MSUCOM $15,964 $35,058
OSUCOM 9552 24,244
OUCOM 12,630 18,408
UMDNJ-SOM 16,694 26,124
UNTHSC/TCOM 6550 19,650
WVSOM 13,070 32,350
Mean $12,410 $25,972
*Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)/American Osteopathic Association
(AOA) Annual Osteopathic Medical School Questionnaire for 2000-2001.