ATSU-KCOM Strategic Plan

This Strategic Plan provides faculty, staff and students with a guide to establish long range strategic goals and objectives.

As the founding College of Osteopathic Medicine, KCOM assumes the responsibility to maintain leadership in osteopathic medical education. This plan has been assembled through a collaborative process involving administration, faculty, and students. The plan will remain a fluid document, subject to review and revision on a regular basis. This plan will also proceed in concert with the A.T. Still University Strategic Plan and contribute in a meaningful manner toward the attainment of the vision set out by the Board of Trustees.

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.

In the constantly changing world of healthcare, KCOM will provide leadership to anticipate and respond to changes in healthcare delivery and medical education.

As part of our strong commitment to the education of the most competent osteopathic physicians, the strategic plan will focus on how to provide students with the highest quality of preparation for their success in healthcare delivery. This direction will be realized through an innovative academic program that promotes student learning, professionalism, compassionate care, scholarly activity, and faculty development.

The plan will work to provide a learning centered environment that maintains our osteopathic heritage while linking opportunities across the continuum of predoctoral and graduate medical education.

Utilize faculty development to anticipate and respond to changes in healthcare delivery and osteopathic medical education

Strategic Goal I.A: Create and nurture a culture that values faculty excellence by actively promoting professional and career development.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

 
1. Provide adequate resources to maintain a faculty development program from the Dean’s office.
   Performance Measure: Yearly budget line item for faculty development.
   Performance Target: Funds available to implement faculty development program.
   Responsible Authority: Dean.
 
2. Maintain a professional development plan for new faculty.
   Performance Measure: Implementation and completion of the new faculty scholars course.
   Performance Target: Training of all new faculty including new regional faculty greater than 0.1 FTE.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs; Department Chairs; ATSU Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).
 
3. Provide ongoing faculty development and mentoring resources to ensure professional development for faculty members.
   Performance Measure: Yearly faculty development calendar of offerings.
   Performance Target: Minimum of 6 faculty development offerings per year.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Curriculum; Faculty Development Committee.
 
4. Use an annual performance evaluation system to meter faculty progress toward professional and institutional goals.
   Performance Measure: Establish evaluation system and monitor faculty progress.
   Performance Target: Annual review and demonstration of sustained faculty performance.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Department Chairs.
 
5. Provide faculty development offerings in professionalism.
   Performance Measure: Number of faculty development offerings on professionalism.
   Performance Target: At least 1 annual offering.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Curriculum; Faculty Development Committee.
 

Strategic Goal I.B: Promote and commit to the expansion of knowledge through research and scholarly activity.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

1. Provide ongoing faculty research scholarly activity funds to ensure professional development for faculty research and scholarly activity.
   Performance Measure: Yearly budget line item for faculty development.
   Performance Target: Funds available to support faculty research and scholarly activity.
   Responsible Authority: Dean.
 
2. Assess and develop resources to sustain and grow needed research and scholarship.
   Performance Measure: Recommend faculty to Interdisciplinary Research Committee (IRC.Collaborate with the IRC.
   Performance Target: Review KCOM focus within University research strategic plan.
   Responsible Authority: Faculty Representatives; Dean; Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, Grants and Information Systems.
 
3. Recognize faculty research and scholarly activity through the ATSU website and the annual faculty evaluation process.
   Performance Measure: Maintain and update research and scholarship webpage. Review annual faculty activity reports for research and scholarly activity. Recognize faculty publications through ATSU public web profiles.
   Performance Target: Annually review.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Department Chairs.

Anticipate and respond to changes in healthcare delivery and the osteopathic medical education environment through enhanced student learning

Strategic Goal II.A.: Provide students the highest quality academic preparation for their success in all aspects of healthcare delivery.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

 
1. Support and promote continuous quality improvement of the curriculum.
   Performance Measure: Continuous course self-study process completed and improvement plans implemented.
   Performance Target: Progress on improvement plan action steps reported annually. Utilize end of semester course reviews. Strategic focused integration within blocks.
   Responsible Authority: Course Directors; Department Chairs; Associate Dean for Medical Education; Curriculum Committee.
 
2. Continue development of the Assessment Subcommittee process, including linkage to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Core Competencies and the University Core Professional Attributes (CPA).; Adopt the 2024 Foundational Core Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Education beginning with the class of 2030. MOVED FROM 1.A.6
   Performance Measure: Provide annual reports on assessment and data-based decision making.
   Performance Target: Produce assessment plan summaries for every class year.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Curriculum Committee; Assessment Subcommittee; ATSU Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).
 
3. Provide ongoing faculty development programing to ensure teaching faculty have the skills and attitudes to maximize student learning.
   Performance Measure: Faculty development offerings focused on teaching and learning.
   Performance Target: Minimum of 3 faculty development offerings annually.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Faculty Development Committee; Curriculum Committee.
 
4. Curricular integration of health policy and emphasis of the physician’s influence on the changing healthcare delivery system.
   Performance Measure: Provide health policy and healthcare delivery system topics in the curriculum, including experiential activities.
   Performance Target: Dedicate curricular time to topics and activities across the predoctoral educational continuum.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Curriculum Committee.

Strategic Goal II.B: Create and sustain an academic environment that promotes innovative programs and scholarly activities.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

 
1. Integrate interprofessional team learning opportunities to graduate practice-ready physicians for a changing healthcare environment.
   Performance Measure: Number of interprofessional and team development activities.
   Performance Target: Develop and expand programs and opportunities in each year of the curriculum.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Deans; Regional Deans; Clerkship Directors; Course Directors (as appropriate); Human Patient Simulation Lab Medical Director; Curriculum Committee.
 
2. Promote and develop student learners who are knowledgeable about scientific research components and the applications of evidence-based practice.
   Performance Measure: Support scholarly activity. Provision of opportunities pertaining to scientific research, clinical research components, and/or the applications of evidence-based practice.
   Performance Target: Promote the inclusion of learning objectives related to research components and evidence-based practice. Integrate plans resultant of the KCOM Student Research Planning Committee assessment.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Curriculum Committee; ATSU Memorial Library staff.
 
3. Continue to develop advanced technology training to enhance student learning.
   Performance Measure: Number of student experiential activities utilizing human patient simulators and ultrasound. Number of additional activities incorporating the use of applied clinical technology in the curriculum.
   Performance Target: Continue to offer experiential activities and opportunities for open human patient simulation and ultrasound labs. Monitor the use of applied clinical technology in the curriculum.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Medical Education; Director of Simulation and Performance Assessment; Clinical Imaging Coordinator; Course Directors, as appropriate; Curriculum Committee.
 

Strategic Goal II.C: Maintain osteopathic heritage of preparing physicians who serve their communities with a focus on professional and compassionate care.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

 
1. Recruit and support a well-prepared, diverse student body that meets the needs of society for highly competent healthcare professionals.
   Performance Measure: Meet annually with admissions committee and staff to review admissions criteria, recruitment efforts, and outcomes.
   Performance Target: Process reviewed annually.
   Responsible Authority: Dean; Associate Vice President for Admissions; KCOM Prescreening and Admissions Committees.
 
2. Educate all students and faculty on the history of osteopathic medicine and osteopathic tenets in each year of the curriculum.
   Performance Measure: Infuse learning activities focusing on osteopathic history and heritage. Incorporation of osteopathic tenets across the curricular continuum.
   Performance Target: 1-2 Annual offerings focusing on osteopathic history and heritage. Annual curricular review.
   Responsible Authority: Curriculum Committee; Department of Advancement of Osteopathic Education.
 
3. Implement curricular and faculty development topics focused on professionalism, health disparities, cultural competence, and needs of the underserved.
   Performance Measure:Infuse learning activities focusing on professionalism, health disparities, cultural competence, and needs of the underserved.
   Performance Target: Measure number of curricular offerings related to these topics.
   Responsible Authority: Course Directors; Associate Dean for Medical Education; Curriculum Committee.
 
4. Implement curricula regarding professional identity formation and provide faculty mentors to guide this process.
   Performance Measure: Develop curricular activities regarding professional identity formation. Identify and train faculty mentors.
   Performance Target: Develop professionalism milestones.
   Responsible Authority: Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs; Associate Dean for Medical Education, Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs; Curriculum Committee.
 
5. Implement career advising processes to assist students in evaluating career options and applying for graduate medical education (GME).
   Performance Measure: Develop career advising process.
   Performance Target: Process reviewed annually.
   Responsible Authority: Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.
 
6. Support mental wellness programming that provides education on prevention and self-care.
   Performance Measure: Support wellness programs.
   Performance Target: Review list of activities from Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness Counseling. Annually review list of wellness programs.
   Responsible Authority: Dean; Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness Counseling.

Cultivate strategic relationships that anticipate and respond to changes in healthcare delivery and the osteopathic medical education

Strategic Goal III.A.: Commit to appropriate relationships that link opportunities across the continuum of recruitment, admissions, pre-doctoral training and graduate medical education, while addressing these rapidly changing environments.

Strategic Initiatives/Action Items:

 
1. Link recruitment and admissions to predoctoral and graduate medical education.
   Performance Measure: Create review process evaluating recruitment and admissions.
   Performance Target: Annual analysis and follow-up plan.
   Responsible Authority: Dean; Admissions Representative; Chair of Admissions Prescreening Committee; Associate Deans.
 
2. Develop long-term, high-quality undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME) partnerships including Still OPTI, an accredited ACGME sponsoring institution part of KCOM, to provide distinctively osteopathic physicians.
   Performance Measure: Number of UME and GME sites developed and maintained.
   Performance Target: Create baseline data for number of partnerships and student placements, increase number of partnerships for UME and GME. Update annually.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs; Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and DIO.
 
3. Support National Center for Osteopathic Principles and Practice Education for resident education and faculty development, particularly in the areas of osteopathic recognition, manipulative medicine, and osteopathic principles and practice.
   Performance Measure: Budget allocation for NCOPPE support and faculty development. Allocation of faculty resources for osteopathically focused education and recognition programs.
   Performance Target: Annual review of budget; Provide 1-2 resident and faculty education programs per year for each site.
   Responsible Authority: Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and DIO.

The Committee members appointed by the Dean include:

• Margaret Wilson, DO - Dean, ATSU-KCOM
• William Brechue, PhD - Professor and chair, Biochemistry & Physiology
• Peter Kondrashov, PhD - Professor and chair, Anatomy
• Eric Snider, DO - Associate Professor, OMM
• Saroj Misra, DO - Associate Professor, OMM
• Richard LaBaere, DO - Associate Professor, OMM
• Patricia Sexton, DHEd - Associate Dean for Medical Education
• Kristin Blunk, MBA - Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs
• Marshall Brace, OMS III, Fellow
• Frank Martin, IV, OMS II

Also contributing and providing assistance was:

• Valerie Hamlin – Curriculum Coordinator, Medical Education