A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) is an osteopathic medical school in the United States granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. Established in 2007, ATSU-SOMA is located at the Mesa, Arizona campus of A.T. Still University. A.T. Still University (ATSU) is the original founding institution of osteopathic healthcare, established in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still in Kirksville, Missouri.
SOMA is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
Campus
The campus operates in a portion of a 100,000-square-foot (9,300Â m2) building on the 22-acre (89,000Â m2) campus of A.T. Still University in Mesa. The campus is the anchor of the Arizona Health & Technology Park, a 132-acre (0.53Â km2) education, healthcare, and technology triangle owned by ATSU and Vanguard Health Systems. The master plan for the new park includes hospitals, long-term care facilities, professional offices, and product development research facilities.
The campus is also home to the Arizona School of Health Sciences, Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, and the 32,000-square-foot (3,000Â m2) East Valley Family YMCA.
Curriculum
The curriculum at SOMA is unique in that all of the clinical education is based at one of twelve community health centers throughout the country.
Training
SOMA uses the Clinical Presentation Educational Model which teaches that there are about 120 different ways that a patient can present themself to a physician. The teaching method was based on a method developed in 1994 by the University of Calgary. Basic sciences are coupled with clinical sciences so that the students have a more comprehensive and practical foundation for each medical discipline. The curriculum design emphasizes clinical competencies which allows students to enter residency programs with greater experience with chronic disease than students educated in the majority of tertiary care-oriented academic health centers.
Community Health Center Locations
SOMA is unique in that the first year is spent at the Mesa campus and the last three years at one of many community health centers. As of 2016, SOMA offers 12 community health center opportunities in such locations as:
- Unity Health Care - Washington, DC
- Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center - Wai'anae, Oahu, HI
- Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services â€" Ridgeland, South Carolina
- Health Point (previously Community Health Centers of King County) â€" Suburban Seattle, Washington
- El Rio Community Health Center â€" Tucson, Arizona
- Family Healthcare Network â€" Tulare County, California
- HealthSource of Ohio â€" Mt Orab, Ohio
- North Country Healthcare â€" Flagstaff, Arizona
- Northwest Regional Primary Care Association â€" Portland, Oregon
- Adelante Healthcare â€" Phoenix, Arizona
- Sunset Park Family Health Center â€" Brooklyn, New York
- Near North Health Service Corporation - Chicago, Illinois
Historical Deans
- Douglas Wood, D.O., Ph.D (Founding Dean-2007-2012)
- Thomas E. McWilliams (Interim Dean-2012)
- Kay Kalousek (2012â€"2015)
- Jeffrey Morgan (educator) (2015-current)
See also
- A.T. Still University
- List of medical schools in the United States
References
External links
- A.T. Still University Website
