Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine


The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine is a private, non-profit medical school for osteopathic medicine located in the city of Dothan in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the first osteopathic medical school in the state and is believed to be the first osteopathic medical school in the nation established by a regional not-for-profit hospital.
On April 24, 2017, the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, awarded ACOM full accreditation status. Graduates of the college receive a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. The first class began study on 5 August 2013, and graduated on 13 May 2017.

History

By the early 1990s, leaders in Alabama had come to recognize the growing need for primary care physicians within the state. Having recognized the propensity for osteopathic medical graduates to pursue careers in primary care, state leaders established the Alabama Medical Education Consortium in 2005 as a means of attracting third and fourth year medical students to rotations within the state.
By 2010, the success of the AMEC pipeline led some to consider the development of Alabama’s own osteopathic medical college. After much deliberation about the location and structure of the school, the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine was established in May 2010 through the partnership of AMEC and the Houston County Healthcare Authority.

Mission

The mission of ACOM is to provide quality, learner-centered osteopathic education, research, and service with emphasis on patient-centered primary care to serve the medically underserved areas of Alabama and the nation.

Academics

Like many other medical schools in the United States, ACOM students will take basic science classes in the first two years of medical school, and move on to clinical clerkships during their third and fourth years. Twenty students per year complete rotations at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery.
Students rotate through out Northern Florida in Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Panama City. The school is currently aiding in the establishment of residency programs in the state of Alabama.
The medical school offers two dual degrees: a Master of Science in Management Program and a Masters in Business Administration. Both are offered via Troy University at Dothan. A team of second-year students from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine won the International SimChallenge in Paris, France at the Society in Europe for the Simulation Applied to Medicine annual meeting held June 14-16, 2017.