Kansas Wesleyan University and Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) are joining forces with an admissions partnership agreement, with the goal of addressing Kansas’ physician shortage.

According to KWU, the agreement will allow qualified, selected students to enter KansasCOM during their senior year and earn a bachelor’s degree with the ensuing work, thereby completing both undergraduate work and a medical degree in seven years.

Initial selections for the program will begin in the spring of 2023. A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for January, but the agreement is already in place.

Kansas Wesleyan is committed to improving our local communities,” said Dr. Matt Thompson, KWU president. “This agreement will do so by helping to address the physician shortage in Kansas, and it will add to the KWU student experience by providing a path to a medical degree on an expedited timeline. We’re excited to be a part of this partnership!”

“We know that primary care physicians tend to practice where they grew up, attended medical school or completed their residency. We also know that of the state’s 105 counties, 92 are considered partially or wholly underserved,” said Tiffany Masson, Psy.D., president of KansasCOM. “KansasCOM is committed to addressing the severe physician shortage across Kansas, and our partnership with Kansas Wesleyan University is one way to help achieve this. Together, we will help get physicians into the workforce at an expedited pace, with the focus on recruiting from within the state and retaining our physicians after residency. We’re excited about the potential impact this will have on the health of Kansans.”

To be eligible for the program, students must complete designated KWU coursework – both particular courses and total number of hours – and maintain GPA requirements. The student must be selected by a KWU committee after completion of their second semester on campus. They will then go to KansasCOM, where they will participate in on-campus interviews, and selections will be made.

Students selected for the program will enter KansasCOM as full-time, first-year students following what would traditionally be their junior year. After completing their first year at KansasCOM, they will receive their bachelor’s degree from KWU.