The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal May 2019 Final 2 | Page 8

teopathic medical school do have a uniqueness to
their practice. They’re able to perform osteopathic
manipulative therapy, and some of that language
is unique. So, having that unique voice that repre-
sents the profession is important. However, it’s also
important to make sure that voice is heard on mul-
tiple levels. The AOMA and the AMS have enjoyed
a good working relationship already and continue
to look forward to working together for the benefit
of all medical students, physicians in the state, and
ultimately, for the overall health of the state.”
From left to right: ARCOM students Joseph Kordsmeier, Trent DeLong, Michael
Page, Kelley Harris, and Dania Abu Jubara; Frazier Edwards, MPA.
pital for typical third-year core rotation training, but
they’re also required to do a community hospital
rotation – usually a critical-access hospital in a
rural area – and a rural family practice rotation,”
said Edwards. “Because these locations are short-
staffed, students are right in there with the staff
working … it’s a ‘roll-up-your-sleeve, let’s get to
work’ approach.”
Magnolia-native Michael Page is aiming to-
ward just such a diverse, hard-at-work medical
practice – in his home town, no less. Page is part
of ARCOM’s inaugural class and is among those
currently gearing up for post-second-year exams.
Upon passing, he will move on to rotations. Set
to graduate in May 2021, Page plans to pursue
residency in family medicine. He hopes to, even-
tually, be back in Magnolia to open his own family
practice. “My interests in family medicine center
around the broad training I can receive that will
allow me to provide inpatient and outpatient ser-
vices, perform procedures, deliver babies, and ful-
fill my desire to be useful to the rural population
of patients I intend to serve,” said Page. “Growing
up, I had the opportunity to spend time at the lo-
cal family doctor’s office in Magnolia where my
mother was the office manager. After seeing the
family doctor serve many roles as a pillar in the
community, I was strongly influenced.”
Having more physicians is a win, particularly
when those physicians remain in Arkansas to prac-
tice in underserved areas. ARCOM recently received
accreditation to provide residency and fellowship
education to its graduating students.**** In line with
its goal of producing more Arkansas primary care
physicians, the school is at work now to develop
new residency programs in the areas where those
students are needed. ARCOM has the capacity to
assist area institutions in various roles. “We can be
adaptive,” said Edwards, who recently announced
a residency partnership with Unity Health. “At Unity
Health, we’re going to be an academic partner. In
other instances, we will be the sponsoring institution.
“We have several programs that are in the ap-
plication process. CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs is
one example of a partnership that will benefit the
community. They’re a core rotation site for our
third- and fourth-year students. Now, they’re devel-
oping residency programs in internal medicine and
family medicine to start with. So, the hope is to have
those programs ready by the time those students
graduate. Statistics show that students tend to stay
where they train, and we want to develop as many
programs as we can that work with that statistic.
We want to start by recruiting them from our service
area. If we can then train them through rotations in
the area, and then if they can enter a residency pro-
gram in the area, there’s a good opportunity for a
community to retain them in the area.”
Support for All Medical Students
and Physicians / AMS and AOMA
With more medical students in the state, there
is much interest from professional societies to work
together to provide support to future physicians. In
addition to his role at ARCOM, Edwards is the exec-
utive director of the Arkansas Osteopathic Medicine
Association. He advises students to take advantage
of the support offered through medical specialty
organizations. “There’s an ongoing effort through
the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute to find ways in
which all medical schools and societies can come
together to better serve the needs of the state. As
for the AMS and AOMA, we have always worked
closely together on difficult issues, whether it’s at
the capitol or in outreach efforts to try and get the
profession engaged.
“We encourage students to join both the AMS
and the AOMA. Students that graduate from an os-
248 • THE JOURNAL OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY
The AMS is pleased to shine a light on the
state’s osteopathic programs and their impact on
the medical profession and the health of Arkan-
sans. AMS Executive Vice President David Wroten
encourages students to reap the benefits of soci-
ety participation. “Medical students are the future
leaders of their profession. We recognize that and
want not only to be supportive but also to help stu-
dents attain the skills and knowledge necessary to
assume those leadership roles,” said Wroten. “The
first thing the new students will learn about AMS is
that the organization makes a strong commitment
for the entire length of their medical training. From
the first year of medical school through their final
year as a medical resident, membership in the AMS
is available at no cost to the student.
“However, that’s just the beginning of the So-
ciety’s support. As part of our commitment to in-
volving all students in our organization, AMS has
amended its bylaws to pave the way for osteo-
pathic students to create AMS student chapters.”
To learn more about the state’s osteopathic
medical schools, visit nyit.edu/arkansas and
acheedu.org/arcom.
*For more statistics on osteopathic students
and practicing physicians (U.S.), download the
latest Osteopathic Medical Profession Report at
https://osteopathic.org/about/aoa-statistics.
**The Association of American Medical
Colleges provides Arkansas physician retention
data and related statistics. https://www.aamc.
org/download/484516/data/arkansasprofile.pdf
***Learn more about NYITCOM’s Delta
Car-a-van. https://www.nyit.edu/box/Features/
medicine_on_the_go
**** The following articles offer a more
detailed look at ARCOM’s work on the residency
side. https://www.swtimes.com/news/20180209/
arkansas-college-of-osteopathic-medicine-enters-
agreement-with-chi-st-vincent-at-hot-springs
https://talkbusiness.net/2019/01/arcom-
gains-accreditation-for-residency-fellowship-
programs/
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