Pathways Event on Sept. 30 Prepares Students for Osteopathic Medical School

September 25, 2023

Current undergraduate students at one of seven partner institutions can participate in PCOM South Georgia’s “Pathway to PCOM,” a special program that provides opportunities for these students to save time and money if they’re accepted into the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program.

“Our mission in South Georgia is to educate and train students in this area in hopes that they stay and practice medicine in this region to address the physician shortage,” said Dana Brooks, executive director of admissions, PCOM South Georgia. “We target schools in our region to educate students from South Georgia about the profession and the pathway to becoming a physician.”

PCOM South Georgia has articulation or affiliation agreements with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Columbus State University, Georgia Southern University, Valdosta State University, Thomas University, Albany State University and Florida A&M University. Students from these schools are invited to campus to learn more about the on Sept. 30. Online registration is available here.

“We created this program to serve as an extra resource for students from our partner schools who are interested in pursuing an education in medicine at PCOM South Georgia,” said Jena Willis, senior assistant director of admissions at PCOM South Georgia. “Preparing for a competitive admissions process can be overwhelming. Our goal is to offer our expertise and design programming to help these prospective students prepare for the medical school admissions process.”

Under PCOM South Georgia’s articulation agreements, current undergraduate students at ABAC, VSU or GSU may qualify to complete their bachelor’s degree through their junior year, and then transfer to PCOM South Georgia to begin taking medical courses a year early. During this first year at PCOM South Georgia, these students will receive credit toward their undergraduate program, which means they will complete their final year of their bachelor’s degree and the first year of medical school at the same time. Doing this also enables a student to complete medical school a year early, saving time and money.

PCOM South Georgia has affiliation agreements with ABAC, VSU, GSU, ASU, TU and FAMU. These agreements guarantee students with a four-year degree an interview for the DO program. This agreement is an exceptional opportunity for students interested in medical school as PCOM South Georgia has an extremely competitive admissions process. PCOM South Georgia receives an average of about 3,000 applications for admission each year and interviews about 10 percent of those applicants. Out of those applicants, PCOM South Georgia welcomes 59 new DO students each fall. The admissions process is comprehensive as well as competitive. Selected students must be well-rounded, achievement-oriented persons whose character, maturity and sense of dedication point to a successful and productive life as an osteopathic physician.

“The goal is to be an additional resource to students who may not have the opportunity or resources needed to be a competitive applicant to medical school,” Brooks said. “We are currently working to expand our reach to other schools in the near future in hopes that we can provide access and resources to more prospective students.”

Register for the Sept. 30 Pathway to PCOM event here. For more information, email sogaadmissions@pcom.edu.

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