Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dear Students:

Welcome to Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, the founding school of osteopathic medicine!  You have made a wise selection in choosing an institution with a long and proud tradition of training competent and caring physicians.

The administration, faculty, and staff of KCOM are committed to providing you the best in medical education as you undertake your learning.

This catalog will provide guidance and general information for both the biomedical sciences and doctor of osteopathic medicine programs.

I wish you all the best as you embark on this new phase of your education!

Sincerely,
Margaret Wilson, DO
Dean

About KCOM

Program Accreditation

The Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree program is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), 142 E. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2864, Phone: 800.621.1773 or 312.202.8124.

Students may file complaints about the osteopathic medicine program with the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs who will work with students to verify complaints and seek resolutions through appropriate policies, processes or individuals depending on the circumstances.  All student complaints will be logged and made available to the COCA visit committee at the new regularly scheduled COCA site visit.  Students wishing to file an anonymous complaint may do so by calling the ATSU Fraud Hotline at www.fraudhl.com/submit-a-report or call 1-855-FRAUD-HL, company ID “ATSU”. 

Students enrolled in the osteopathic medicine (DO) program may file complaints regarding the College’s adherence to the COM Continuing Accreditation Standards by contacting the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic Accreditation, 142 E. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL  60611-2864, Phone: 800.621.1773 or 312.202.8124.

Students who file complaints will not be retaliated against.

KCOM Mission Statement

The mission of A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine is to educate and train students to become highly competent osteopathic physicians and healthcare leaders. KCOM is committed to providing a quality osteopathic medical education in a research environment that prepares students for graduate medical training and clinical service.

Osteopathic Pledge of Commitment

I pledge to:

• Provide compassionate, quality care to my patients;
• Partner with them to promote health;
• Display integrity and professionalism throughout my career;
• Advance the philosophy, practice, and science of osteopathic medicine;
• Continue lifelong learning;
• Support my profession with loyalty in action, word, and deed; and
• Live each day as an example of what an osteopathic physician should be.

Osteopathic Physician’s Oath

I do hereby affirm my loyalty to the profession I am about to enter. I will be mindful always of my great responsibility to preserve the health and the life of my patients, to retain their confidence and respect both as a physician and a friend who will guard their secrets with scrupulous honor and fidelity, to perform faithfully my professional duties, to employ only those recognized methods of treatment consistent with good judgment and with my skill and ability, keeping in mind always nature’s laws and the body’s inherent capacity for recovery.

I will be ever vigilant in aiding the general welfare of the community, sustaining its laws and institutions, not engaging in those practices which will in any way bring shame or discredit upon myself or my profession. I will give no drugs for deadly purposes to any person, though it be asked of me.

I will endeavor to work in accord with my colleagues in a spirit of progressive cooperation, and never by word or by act cast imputations upon them or their rightful practices.

I will look with respect and esteem upon all those who have taught me my art. To my college I will be loyal and strive always for its best interests and for the interests of the students who will come after me. I will be ever alert to further the application of basic biologic truths to the healing arts and to develop the principles of osteopathy which were first enunciated by Andrew Taylor Still.

Contact KCOM

KCOM School Policies

The following policies or guidelines apply to all programs at KCOM.

Grading

ATSU-KCOM programs adhere to the University grading scale.

Academic Appeals

The individual professional and graduate programs of ATSU, through their faculty and established school procedures, retain principal responsibility for assessing student performance.  Disputes concerning unsatisfactory progress evaluations should be reconciled through the processes and procedures described under the DO and MS in Biomedical Sciences programs individually.  Additional guidelines regarding academic appeals, including grade appeals, promotion, and/or dismissal appeals will be found within the ATSU Policies section, Academic Appeals policy.

Auditing a Course

The KCOM audit policy is reserved for students who need to review course content or are pursuing an irregular schedule. All audits are subject to approval by the Dean or their designee.

Students approved to audit a course are:

1. Allowed to sit in class and may participate in laboratory experiences only if space is available,
2. Are not charged tuition for the audited course, and
3. No record of the audit will appear on the student’s transcript.

Questions concerning the audit policy should be directed to the Associate Dean for Curriculum.

BLS and ACLS Certification

Prior to clinical rotations, KCOM students are required to obtain and maintain health provider level Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support (ACLS) certification.

Responsibilities and Conduct

Please refer to the University Student Handbook for information related to the responsibilities and expectations of conduct for students at KCOM.

Immunizations, screenings, and certifications for DO and Biomedical Sciences programs

In order to protect students, staff, and patients, KCOM requires students to have documented (1) completion of the required KCOM immunization schedule or (2) a state of Missouri allowable immunization exemption certificate on file with the KCOM immunization coordinator.  The immunization and screening requirements span the entire time of enrollment at KCOM.

1. KCOM students (medical students, fellows, and biomedical science students) must meet conditions listed above. The immunization and screening schedule spans the entire time of enrollment at KCOM.  Therefore, compliance is required on a continuous basis.  Students failing to meet these standards will not be allowed to have school sanctioned clinical training or graduate until requirements are met.
2. Students will be notified of impending non-compliant status. Students not in compliance with the immunization and screening requirements will be reported to the Associate Dean for Academic and Clinical Educational Affairs (DO program) or the Graduate Program Committee (Biomedical Sciences).  In addition, non-compliant students will be immediately removed from clinical experience and direct patient care until compliance has been achieved.
3. Students should be aware additional immunizations or titers are required in specific regions. Likewise, specific sites may also require drug screens prior to student participation in a rotation. Regional immunization and screening requirements are subject to change.  Students will be notified of these requirements.
4. Students should be aware immunization and screening standards may be different for certain clinical rotations as compared to others. It is not uncommon for infectious disease and pediatric/neonatal intensive care rotations to require further proof of immunization status than other clinical rotations.  Students wishing to complete clinical training rotations in these facilities will need to comply with the facilities’ required immunization and screening policies.
   1. Required immunizations, titers, and screenings are updated yearly and therefore subject to change.  This information is included for reference only.
   2. Required proof of the following immunizations prior to matriculation:
      • Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTP) series
      • Hepatitis B series and titer
      • Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR); if documentation cannot be produced, a titer is required
      • Meningococcal
      • Polio Virus series; if documentation cannot be produced, a titer is required
      • Tdap
      • Varicella series; if documentation cannot be produced or student contracted the chickenpox, a titer is required
   3. Required immunizations while an active student at KCOM:
      • Tdap/Td Booster
      • Tuberculosis Screening (TST, IGRA or chest x-ray)
      • Annual Influenza
   4. Recommended immunizations:
      • Hepatitis A series
      • Pneumococcal
5. Documents related to immunizations and screenings will be maintained and monitored through the Academic and Clinical Educational Affairs department.
6. All testing is at the expense of the student. Students should be aware that good prior planning is needed to maintain compliance in the immunization program.

Programs

• Osteopathic Medicine, DO (KCOM)

• Biomedical Sciences, MS