MONROE, LA –Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) has added an interview agreement with Centenary College in Shreveport, LA, to its growing list of partnerships with collegiate institutions across the country. The new agreement provides a guaranteed on-campus interview at one of four VCOM campuses for Centenary students who meet both the general admission requirements for the medical college and a set of additional benchmarks, including GPA, competitive MCAT scores and community service hours.
Osteopathic medicine emphasizes the interrelated unity of bodily systems and leverages the human body’s natural ability to heal in an effort to prioritize body, mind and spirit as equally important elements in an individual’s health. The VCOM-Louisiana campus in Monroe opened in 2020 as a partnership between VCOM and the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM). The VCOM-ULM partnership seeks to address the critical physician shortage in Louisiana and the Delta Region, and the guaranteed interview program with Centenary provides a pathway to recruit high achieving students to the new program. Centenary students will be eligible for a guaranteed interview at VCOM if they meet all technical and general admission requirements, complete a required set of prerequisite courses, maintain an overall and a science GPA of 3.5, earn a competitive score on the MCAT exam, and complete a minimum of 40 hours of health care and 40 community volunteer hours by the time of their application.
“In representing our mission to the State of Louisiana, it is important to offer this increased awareness to our institutions of higher learning within this state,” said Morrison. “This signing is a tangible demonstration of VCOM’s commitment to collaborate with Louisiana’s colleges and universities who also have a vested interest in the health care of this state.”
With campuses in Blacksburg, VA, Spartanburg, SC, Auburn, AL, and Monroe, LA, VCOM has graduated over 4,100 new physicians since its founding in 2001.