University of New England

Mission Statement
The mission of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) is to provide for the education of osteopathic physicians and other health professionals. The College is dedicated to the improvement of life through education, research, and service, emphasizing health, healing, and primary care for the people of New England and the nation.

Accreditation
The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOA COCA). The University of New England is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Additionally, the Maine Medical Association's Council on Continuing Medical Education and Accreditation (CCMEA) has accredited the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine to provide continuing medical education for physicians, including both D.O.s and M.D.s.

Osteopathic Medicine
Osteopathic medicine was conceived by an American frontier doctor, Andrew Taylor Still, who recognized the limitations in the medical care of his day and approached the treatment of the patient from an aspect of complete unity. That is, man is the unified whole of all his components which interrelate inseparably in physical and psychological functions. He articulated a set of principles that have continued to guide the profession into its second century. These are:

The first school of osteopathic medicine was founded by Dr. Still in 1892 in Kirksville, Missouri (now the A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine). There are currently 21 colleges of osteopathic medicine (four of which have a second branch campus), and graduates are privileged and credentialed in hospitals throughout the country.

The degree of doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) is granted to graduates of osteopathic medical schools to indicate to the public that these physicians have received an education that is distinctive from allopathic (M.D.) physicians.

Consistent with the philosophy and training programs of the osteopathic profession, the majority of osteopathic physicians practice primary care medicine. Their interest in holistic medicine, one of the basic tenets of their osteopathic heritage, encourages them to provide both preventive and curative services to their patients on a comprehensive and continuing basis.

To serve the total needs of osteopathic family physicians and their patients, the profession has developed training programs and certifying boards in the various established specialties. Osteopathic specialists adhere to the same basic philosophy of medicine as their family practice colleagues. Osteopathic specialists are required to follow the same educational program, which includes a 12-month rotating internship, as the basis for entry into post-doctoral specialty training. Today, licensed osteopathic physicians practice all branches of medicine and surgery in all fifty states.

The Osteopathic 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 treatments 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 may 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.

In the presence of this gathering I bind myself to my oath.

History of UNECOM
In 1972, a group of New England osteopathic physicians met informally to discuss their concern about the aging population of D.O.s in the New England area and the difficulty of New England students in securing admission to osteopathic colleges. Osteopathic physicians comprised the majority of physicians available in numerous rural and urban areas. Failure to replace them would cause not only a marked loss to the profession but, more importantly, to the patients who had come to depend on osteopathic medical care. The group discussed ways of dealing with this problem and moved to establish an osteopathic college in New England.

The New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine (NEFOM) was incorporated in 1973 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since its inception, the purpose of this nonprofit tax-exempt organization has been “to operate and maintain a foundation for the promotion of osteopathic medical education, osteopathic medical research, and the improvement of health care in osteopathic medical hospitals and related institutions.” These goals were established as a response to the needs recognized by the profession, which later became documented in studies supported by the Bureau of Health Manpower of the then U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The establishment of NEFOM, as well as the planning for the creation of a college of osteopathic medicine, was based on regionalism: the development of one osteopathic medical school to serve the six New England states was looked upon as an efficient and economical use of the region's resources.

The New England College of Osteopathic Medicine opened its doors in the fall of 1978 with an entering class of 36 students. This momentous achievement was largely due to the financial support and hard work of individual osteopathic physicians, their state societies, the region's osteopathic hospitals, and grateful patients. Following four years of continued effort and financial support from the profession and its friends, the College graduated its first class in June of 1982.

The purposes of the College are consistent with those established for all accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine by the American Osteopathic Association Council on Osteopathic College Accreditation. According to these guidelines, the primary purpose of all accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine is to educate competent osteopathic physicians. In addition, the colleges should contribute to the advancement of knowledge and the development of the osteopathic contribution to medicine through research. The colleges are also responsible for the creation of opportunities for continued study for teachers, investigators, and physicians. In the area of public service, the colleges are expected to provide quality osteopathic health care to their respective communities.

As the only college of osteopathic medicine in New England, the following are UNECOM's distinctive purposes:

As these goals indicate, the educational program is oriented toward the training of osteopathic primary care physicians. This is not an empty set of words reflecting the current interest of the federal government and society on holistic health care and family medicine. Both the didactic curriculum and the clinical training programs emphasize the knowledge and skills basic to osteopathic family practice.

What is an osteopathic family practitioner? The family practice physician assumes responsibility for comprehensive and continuous health care for families and patients of all ages, evaluating their total health needs and providing long-term medical care. When referral of a patient to a specialist is indicated, the family practice physician makes the referral and then acts as the coordinator of the team providing specialized health services while still preserving the continuity of care. In short, the osteopathic family practitioner provides and coordinates comprehensive health care for a group of patients of all ages over an extended period of time.

While the College has chosen family practice as the focus of its educational program, it does not expect all of its graduates to enter family practice. However, regardless of a student's eventual field of practice, the orientation to family practice provides a good foundation upon which to build: the knowledge and skills of family practice medicine are fundamental to all medical practices and the philosophy of comprehensive care can prevent some of the negative effects of overspecialization that can result from early specialty training. For graduates who elect to enter a specialty, the profession has specialty residency training programs.

Clinical Education
Consistent with the College's emphasis on primary care, its clinical training programs include community hospitals and health centers. Such community hospitals are similar to the facilities where many of the college's graduates will eventually practice. While community hospitals form the core of the clinical clerkships, affiliations have been arranged to provide a variety and range of clinical experiences. Students are required to complete core clerkships in the assigned disciplines at sites selected by the college during the third year, and selective and elective training at approved programs during the fourth year. It is frequently necessary for the student to leave the New England area for part or all of the core clerkship training period.

The College has formulated the concept of community-based Clerkship Training Centers (CTCs) which it began to phase into the academic schedule in 1997. The CTC is a community-based education site of one or more training institutions within geographic proximity that allow a coordinated delivery of the third-year Core academic training experience. These coordinated sites will provide the patient base, the didactic and experiential opportunities, the supervisory infrastructure and the longitudinal evaluation necessary for the accomplishment of the educational goals of the core clerkships. Please see Core predoctoral clinical clerkship affiliates for more information .

UNECOM enjoys an educational affiliation with a number of postgraduate internship and residency programs. Serving as a sponsor for these independent programs, the college provides liaison services to the American Osteopathic Association for the purpose of assuring AOA approval for the training programs. Graduates can apply to these and other postgraduate programs for internship and residency for postdoctoral training. The college believes these affiliations exemplify the breadth and depth that these collaborative arrangements offer our graduates for postgraduate training. Please see postgraduate affiliates for more information.

For ambulatory-based programs, the College uses the offices of clinical faculty members throughout New England as well as a number of community health programs. The ambulatory programs train students in office practice and teach students about the collaborative roles and skills of non-physician health care providers. In addition, the College operates University Health Care which has established model primary care facilities. Through rotations at the centers, the College is able to demonstrate the type of medicine it would like its students to practice.

Notice and Responsibilities Regarding this Catalog

This Catalog documents the academic programs, policies, and activities of the University of New England for the 2007-2008 academic year. The information contained herein is accurate as of date of publication August 1, 2007.

The University of New England reserves the right in its sole judgment to make changes of any nature in its programs, calendar, or academic schedule whenever it is deemed necessary or desirable, including changes in course content, the rescheduling of classes with or without extending the academic term, canceling of scheduled classes or other academic activities, in any such case giving such notice thereof as is reasonably practicable under the circumstances.

While each student may work closely with an academic advisor, he or she must retain individual responsibility for meeting requirements in this catalog and for being aware of any changes in provisions or requirements.