Published:Monday, September 9, 2013

Updated:Monday, September 9, 2013 16:09

Photo illustration by Caitlin LaFarlette

There are currently 12 colleges at ASU, but if plans go as intended, by September 2016 a new medical college will be introduced to the Jonesboro campus. Jason Penry, vice chancellor for university advancement, said the campus is taking a serious look into adding an osteopathic medical school to the educational community.

With this concept, we would not seek state funding, Chancellor TimHudson said in a press release over the summer. The school would generate revenue through tuition, research and external support.

Osteopathic doctors believe a person is more than just body parts, according to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). They take a whole person approach to modern medicine. Instead of treating parts of the body, they treat it as a whole. ODs have an official license and are completely qualified just like a regular MD. Osteopathic doctors (ODs) also go through the additional four years of medical school. About two-thirds of osteopathic medical doctors go into primary care.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine there are a total of 30 colleges that train osteopathic medical doctors, none of which exist in Arkansas. The closest osteopathic school to Jonesboro is at Oklahoma State University, approximately 400 miles away.

The osteopathic school at ASU would bring in an estimated 300 600 students and will consist of two years of classes on the Jonesboro campus. The next two years would be clinic rotations held in hospitals around the state.

The idea for the osteopathic medical school arose in 2009 and plans went into consideration as of last year.

Arkansas State has a long tradition of creating programs that meet state needs, Hudson said in the press release. An osteopathic medical school could be transformative for our state and our region.

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Looking Forward: A-State seeks to add medical school