Saturday, September 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Doctors say new medical school could ease physician shortage

Downtown Las Vegas college, slated for 2004 opening, to teach osteopathic medicine

A new medical school in downtown Las Vegas could attract much-needed new physicians to the valley, local doctors say.

The new osteopathic school of medicine still needs final accreditation, but for the most part is a "done deal," said the school's chief executive officer, Jay Sexter.

"I've already shipped my car to Las Vegas and bought a house. I'm starting to hire doctors who are going to be moving to Vegas from all over the country," said Sexter, who helped develop the new school's main campus in Northern California seven years ago.

The new college, to be located at an undisclosed downtown location, will be a branch campus of Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo, Calif. The four-year medical school program eventually will expand to include programs in nursing, physical therapy and physician's assistant training, Sexter said.

"We hope to start with 75 medical students in September 2004 and eventually enroll 150," he said.

Denise Selleck-Davis, executive director of the Nevada Osteopathic Medical Association, said the school hopefully will funnel more doctors into the community over the next decade.

"Doctors tend to want to attend school where they want to live, so if we can get them here, hopefully they will stay," she said.

Selleck-Davis expressed concern, however, that the state's current medical liability crisis will drive new doctors out of town. Some local physicians have shut down their practices, retired early or curtailed their services, and they blame skyrocketing rates of medical malpractice insurance for their changes.

Currently, there are 380 doctors of osteopathic medicine in Nevada -- about one for every 10 medical doctors, according to Selleck-Davis. Osteopathic physicians are more common in the Midwest and on the East Coast, where most of the country's osteopathic medical schools are located, she said.

There are about 20 colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States. The majority of Nevada's osteopaths are primary care physicians, emergency room doctors and internal medicine specialists, Selleck-Davis said.

Osteopathic physicians are fully qualified doctors who perform surgery, prescribe medications and work in hospitals and private offices across the country. Both osteopathic and medical doctors complete four years of basic medical training followed by residency programs in a wide variety of specialties.

There's a philosophical difference between a doctor of osteopathic medicine and a medical doctor, said osteopath Robert Kessler, a member of the board of trustees for the Nevada Osteopathic Medical Association.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine believe in treating the entire individual, not just the symptoms, he said. They believe in preventative medicine and helping the body heal itself.

"In my office, diet and exercise are prescribed just as much as anything else," Kessler said. "One of the questions I'm always asking is, `Why is this person not getting better?' The body is made to find health. We need to find what has changed to not allow a person to heal."

Doctors of osteopathic medicine also receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system. The training allows physicians to apply manual pressure and manipulations to help the body heal.

Twenty osteopathic medical students from Touro University in Vallejo are currently participating in a local program at Valley Hospital Medical Center. The students shadow area doctors for a month as part of their medical education program, said Valley Hospital spokeswoman Gretchen Papez.

Papez said hospital officials hope to have a full-fledged residency program available for the first round of graduating students from the new medical school.

It's unclear yet where the new medical school will be built, but Mayor Oscar Goodman said Cashman Field is a possibility.

"It's pretty exciting that academic institutions are focusing on downtown Las Vegas," he said. "Anything we can do to bring smart people down here is a good thing."