IUP considers creating a school of osteopathic medicine - TribLIVE

Indiana University of Pennsylvania could unfastened the state’s archetypal schoolhouse of osteopathic medicine astatine a nationalist university, a task to bid and postgraduate professionals to amended agrarian wellness and beforehand Pennsylvania’s economy.

A solution that would authorize the state-owned university, portion of the State System of Higher Education, to research the school’s imaginable improvement is scheduled to spell earlier IUP’s assembly of trustees aboriginal Thursday for consideration.

Officials accidental the inaugural would assistance code a pronounced a nationalist shortage of superior attraction physicians, particularly successful agrarian areas, noting that qualified aesculapian students crossed the U.S. outstrip disposable slots successful aesculapian schools.

They enactment that 57% of doctors of osteopathic medicine signifier superior attraction medicine and 1 successful 5 enactment successful agrarian communities.

IUP Trustees Chair Samuel Smith was successful meetings Thursday successful beforehand of the nationalist league and not instantly available. Officials astatine the assemblage besides had nary contiguous comment.

Creating the schoolhouse would impact a lengthy support process for accreditation and important streams of extracurricular backing beyond those presently disposable to IUP. The State System’s enactment arsenic good arsenic field officials could revisit the thought during exploration, the solution states.

It pointed to a an array of imaginable benefits, too.

At contiguous successful Pennsylvania, determination are schools of osteopathic medicine lone connected backstage campuses, including 1 nether operation astatine Duquesne University. Officials astatine the Catholic assemblage person said they anticipation to enroll the archetypal students determination successful August 2023, and Duquesne president Ken Gormley has besides pointed to a shortage of family-practice doctors.

“There is nary schoolhouse oregon assemblage of osteopathic medicine astatine a nationalist assemblage successful Pennsylvania,” the IUP solution states. “Osteopathic medicine astatine IUP would supply affordable pathways for pre-medical students from crossed Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, who are apt to enactment successful Pennsylvania to signifier professionally.”

It notes that “IUP is 1 of lone 93 nationalist universities successful the US with a precocious probe enactment designation (and )strong existing subject and wellness programs, with 30 percent of its students enrolled successful STEM-H (science, technology, engineering, math, and wellness sciences) majors.”

It besides says IUP has a “robust and increasing concern with Indiana Regional Medical Center, a strong, autarkic agrarian hospital.”

Officials said the thought is accordant with the State System’s mission, arsenic spelled retired successful Act 188 that created the state-owned universities successful 1983 retired of a postulation of authorities colleges.

State System officials including Chancellor Daniel Greenstein person cited the request to make caller high-demand programs successful fields that payment the Commonwealth and — by hold - could assistance the universities including IUP reverse a more-than-decade-long enrollment decline.

Currently, enrollment crossed the 10 state-owned universities totals 84,556, down astir 29% since its highest successful 2010 of astir 120,000 students. Like different determination systems particularly successful the Northeast and Midwest, the inclination has been fueled astatine slightest successful portion by less precocious schoolhouse graduates, a rapidly changing higher acquisition marketplace and cost.

In summation to IUP, the 10 state-owned universities see PennWest University and Slippery Rock successful Western Pennsylvania, arsenic good arsenic Cheyney, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Millersville, Shippensburg and West Chester.