NEWS
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
WVSOM Leads State ’ s Medical Schools in Primary Care , Rural Practice , Total Physicians , and Lowest Tuition
The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine ( WVSOM ) remains a medical education leader in several key areas , according to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission ’ s ( WVHEPC ) Division of Health Sciences ’ annual report .
According to information published in the commission ’ s 2024 West Virginia Health Sciences and Rural Health Report , issued in December , WVSOM produces the highest number of physicians in the Mountain State in all specialties as well as the largest number who practice in rural areas of West Virginia . The report provides data for all three medical schools in the state .
A total of 159 WVSOM graduates from classes between 2014 and 2019 practice in West Virginia , compared to 155 from the second-highest school and 119 from the third-highest school . A total of 72 physicians who graduated from WVSOM during those years practice in rural areas of the state , compared to 43 from the other two schools combined .
The report defines rural areas as areas of the state with a 2006 Rural Urban Commuting Area code of 4.0 or higher , a categori- zation based on the U . S . census that uses measures of population density , urbanization , and daily commuting .
Data in the report also indicate that WVSOM leads the state in the number of doctors who practice primary care in West Virginia , with 101 primary care physicians graduating from the school between 2014 and 2019 , compared to 73 from the second-highest school and 58 from the third-highest school .
The report defines primary care as encompassing the specialties of family medicine , internal medicine , internal medicine / pediatrics , OB-GYN , and pediatrics .
WVSOM has led the state in the categories of rural practice and primary care for more than a decade , according to past WVHEPC reports .
Additionally , the report shows that WVSOM leads the state in new physicians pursuing primary care . For the school ’ s Class of 2024 , a total of 114 graduates — 60 % of the class — entered primary care residencies .
WVSOM had the lowest 2023-24 tuition cost of the state ’ s three medical schools for both in-state and out-of-state students . The report also noted that in-state tuition at all West Virginia medi-
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