COURTESY WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITYThird-year medical students Shanique Jarrett of Gainesville, Fla., and Alaukik Bhasin of Columbia study the structures of the human face at the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

HATTIESBURG -- Brent Arnold was planning to get his doctorate in biomedical engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La., but in his senior year he decided he wanted to be a doctor and work directly with patients rather than doing research.

Arnold enrolled in the first class at William Carey University's College of Osteopathic Medicine and this year will begin his clinical rotations. After that, he will do an internship and residency before he begins practicing as a doctor of osteopathy, or a DO.

"William Carey is close to home and close to family," said Arnold, a native of Alexandria, La. "I want to practice in the South."

The medical school, or COM as it's known, was supposed to open in 2005, but Hurricane Katrina interrupted those plans.

"We were first contacted by the state osteopathic medical association about opening a school, but we didn't know a lot about osteopathic medicine," said Tommy King, president of William Carey. "The more we learned, the more it fit in with the mission of the university."

Osteopathic doctors are known for their "whole person" approach to medicine, rather than just treating symptoms. They focus on preventive health care and natural treatment rather than medicine, although they can prescribe medication.

"It's the osteopathic emphasis on the holistic approach that we liked," said Darrell Lovins, dean of the medical school. "We treat the whole person."

King said that 76 of Mississippi's 82 counties are considered medically underserved, and the university wanted to provide more medical care to areas of the state that need it.

"We had investors ready to put up the money, but then Katrina hit," he said. "We were preoccupied with recovery from Katrina, but when we got on our feet, we started thinking about it again."

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WC medical school training doctors of osteopathy