Campbell med school among best in nation in latest U.S. News annual rankings

July 24, 2024

The Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University ranks second-highest in the nation for "Medical Schools With the Most Graduates Practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas," according to U.S. News & World Report rankings of top medical schools released on July 22.

U.S. News says 46.8 percent of Campbell graduates are practicing in medically underserved areas, the only N.C. medical ranking in the top 10 in this category. Further, and also significantly, Campbell's med school ranks 11th in Most Graduates Practicing in Primary Care, with 41.1 percent of graduates practicing in primary care.

Schools were assessed on their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence, U.S. News says.

Serving rural communities in North Carolina with the goal of keeping physicians in those communities is a primary goal of Campbell, which boasts the only osteopathic medical school in North Carolina.

Osteopathic medical schools secured the top 14 positions for graduates practicing in primary care, and six osteopathic medical schools are ranked in the top 14 for graduates practicing in rural areas, says the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

"Access to primary care is crucial for better overall health outcomes, and osteopathic medical schools are leading the way in ensuring this essential service reaches all communities, especially those in rural and underserved areas," AACOM says.

"We are immensely proud to see our colleges achieve such prestigious national recognition, particularly as, for the first time ever, the top 14 medical schools for graduates practicing in primary care are all osteopathic institutions," said AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO.

"This outstanding achievement, along with having six of our schools ranked in the top 14 for rural health, underscores osteopathic medicine's pivotal role in addressing the national challenges of primary care and rural physician shortages. The exceptional performance of both our colleges and their students demonstrates the expanding demand for osteopathic principles and philosophy and its growing impact on the health and well-being of communities nationwide. We commend the COMs for their well-deserved recognition and their unwavering dedication to excellence in osteopathic medical education."

This year, Hugh-Chatham Health and Campbell med school partnered for a designated Rural Track residency program, in coordination with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Campbell has multiple residency programs, but this is Campbell's first foray onto the RuralTrack.

On Match Day in April, all of Campbell's 152 graduating medical students learned they were placed in a residency program. Fifty-one - 34 percent - will serve their residencies in North Carolina. Virginia and South Carolina will each be home to 13 new Campbell residents. Forty of the graduating students will specialize in family medicine and 33 in internal medicine.

Also in April, the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine was accredited for another 10 years, earning "accreditation with exceptional outcome" status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

The designation came after representatives from the accrediting organization visited the med school earlier this year. It's the second COCA accreditation for the school, which opened during the 2013-14 academic year.

It's an important achievement, and one that everyone affiliated with the med school and university should be proud of, said Dr. Brian Kessler, dean and chief academic officer at the med school.

The 10-year designation and "exceptional" status are especially significant, he said.

"We went above and beyond and met all the elements (for the exceptional accreditation)," he said.

U.S. News, citing the Association of American Medical Colleges, says, the U.S. will face a physician shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. The AAMC compared the projected supply and demand for primary care physicians and predicted a shortage of between 20,200 and 40,400 of these physicians by 2036.

"To calculate the percentage of medical and osteopathic graduates practicing in primary care fields, we divided the number of physicians who graduated between 2015 and 2017 practicing in a primary care field by the total number of graduating physicians from each medical and osteopathic school," U.S. News says. "In this category, 168 schools are ranked, and the schools with the highest percentages of graduates practicing in primary care fields top the list."

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