BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and Baptist Work to Build the Clinical Education Pipeline

In recognition of National Osteopathic Medicine Week, April 14–20, we’re highlighting the work taking place behind the scenes to build a clinical education pipeline, enabling students at Baptist Health Sciences University (BHSU) College of Osteopathic Medicine to start their clinical rotations next year.

When the first class of students graduates from BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2028, the Mid-South will gain greater access to health care with 60% of students anticipated to remain in the area to practice family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics or such specialties as emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, or general surgery. Before that can happen, BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine students must complete clinical rotations in hospitals and clinics to gain hands-on experience starting during their third year of study.

“In the third year, students should be able to sit down with a patient, ask the right questions, do a physical exam and partner with the patient on forming a plan that will, hopefully, result in a positive outcome for restoring health or maintaining wellness,” said Dr. Peter Bell, vice provost and dean of BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Core Clinical Sites

Leaders at Baptist and BHSU have been working diligently to build the clinical education pipeline students need to start clinical rotations in 2026.

“Rather than placing students in the immediate Memphis area, we are going to use the entire Baptist footprint. We divided the Baptist system into eight core clinical sites, and we’re working with leaders from those areas to build infrastructure and identify champion physicians who can spend time ensuring a good working relationship between clinicians and students,” said Dr. Bell.

The core clinical sites are composed of groupings of Baptist entities located in metro Memphis, Northwest Tennessee, Northeast Arkansas and Mississippi. Students completing rotations will live near their core clinical site. For example, a student assigned to the core clinical site in North Mississippi would live near Oxford, New Albany, Booneville or Calhoun City.

“This is a broad educational opportunity across our system, not just for Baptist and our College of Osteopathic Medicine, but for all the other educational partners that exist currently across our system,” said Hampton Hopkins, Ed.D., president of Baptist Health Sciences University. “We also have an opportunity to look at gaps that exist across our system and where Baptist Health Sciences University can potentially help fill in some of those gaps in areas where there is an educational need.”

When it comes to finding high-demand health care professionals, those hospitals and clinics that join the effort to build this clinical education pipeline can benefit from the relationships formed with students.

“We’re asking physicians to pay it forward and remember the help they received when they were students. Giving time to a student now can benefit the entire Mid-South long-term,” said Dr. Bell.

Justin Rhodes, CEO of Baptist Medical Group and vice president of Baptist Connected Care, is supporting the effort to build the clinical education pipeline. He said, “We are leveraging our large Baptist Medical Group enterprise to partner physicians with medical students during their clinical rotations. We look forward to supporting this important effort to train more physicians and, ultimately, grow our ability to provide greater access to health care across the Mid-South.”

A Closer Look at the First Class

BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomed its first class of students in 2024. In the class, 28% of students are from underserved populations, 58% are women and 40% are from the Mid-South. It is likely that many students from this area will remain here for their residencies.

“This is our opportunity to engage with students that are not from the Mid-South and help them to see how great it is to live in this area. We’re hoping to recruit the majority of our graduates back into the Baptist system. We set a goal of 60% retention for the class,” noted Dr. Bell.

All 81 students from the first class are still enrolled. The next class will have 121 students. In 2026, BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine will accept a full class of 162 students for the first time.

BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine aims to keep students successful with multiple areas of support — mentoring, tutoring, individual and group academic coaching; focusing on mental wellness with a wellness committee and a clinical psychologist; providing spiritual guidance for the student’s belief system; and emphasizing physical health, diet and healthy lifestyle, including yoga classes and donated YMCA memberships.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

This article was originally published on Baptist Leader.