Barbara Ross-Lee: Arkansas Can Support 3 Medical Schools

Arkansas "absolutely, positively" needs doctors and can sustain three medical schools, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee told the Little Rock Rotary Club on Tuesday. Ross-Lee is vice president and founding dean of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The college enrolled its first class of 120 students in August. "The problem is bigger than one school can solve … I come from states that have many more medical schools, and they're doing OK, and they still have shortages," Ross-Lee said. Arkansas will soon have three medical schools: NYIT in Jonesboro; the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith, which is set to open this fall; and the long-established University of Arkansas For Medical Sciences in Little Rock.  Ross-Lee said the fact that the schools are in different areas of the state will help them thrive. Ross-Lee said osteopathic education is growing nationwide to meet "great demand." There are 33 colleges in the country, and 48 sites in 31 states, she said. "Those are yesterday's numbers," she said. "Once a week, I check." About one in every four physicians-in-training are attending an osteopathic school, she said, adding that the only difference between osteopathic and allopathic education is the philosophy behind them. The education they provide are of the same quality, she said. An osteopathic physician — a D.O. — and an allopathic physician — an M....
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - Category: American Health Source Type: news