The Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine (proposed) at Morgan State University (MSU) “is in the applicant stage of accreditation, known as the “initial” stage,” according to information provided to The Baltimore Times. The future campus site would be located at the Montebello campus area if the proposed medical school gets the greenlight. The current building will be demolished, and a new building will be constructed.
Investment commitments for the project have reportedly reached $18.5 million.
According to information provided by the founding dean of the Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine, John W. Sealey, DO, FACOS, the undertaking would be privately funded.
“I will be the chief academic officer/dean of the medical school at Morgan,” Dr. Sealey said. “We are in the applicant status and we’ve been there since last year. So, we are the proposed Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine in an applicant status for accreditation, to be an accredited medical school.”
Building clinical rotation sites in hospitals for the Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (MD-COM) potential students who will need clinical learning environments is in progress. Affiliation agreements have been signed with a Federal Qualified Health Center in Baltimore and local hospitals.
Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) are known for taking a whole-person approach to care for and treat patients. Disease prevention is another key. Osteopathic doctors are licensed. Sealey added that osteopathic medicine’s philosophical founder was discovered by Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800s.
“DOs receive the same medical training as other physicians, as well as 200 additional hours of OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Method) training. OMM is a hands-on treatment used to diagnose and treat illness and injury,” per information provided by the Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine’s website.
Traditional doctors uphold an emphasis on medication use for the purpose of treating illnesses that are typically diagnosed “by tests or procedures.” They attended “a traditional (allopathic) medical school,” according to Healthline.
Sealey is highly accomplished. He earned his bachelor of science degree in Organic Chemistry from North Carolina Central University. The doctor received his medical degree from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Postgraduate studies were completed at University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State. Sealey worked as a cardiothoracic surgeon, former chief of surgery, medical director, and president of medical staff. The health authority’s experience also includes serving as Associate Dean of Clinical Education at Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“A fourth of all of the physicians that are out there now are osteopathic students,” Sealey said. “It’s the fastest growing medical profession in the country.”
Sealey told The Baltimore Times that MD-COM’s accreditation process involves hiring a dean, then waiting a year to apply for the candidacy status, before moving on to the applicant status. Next, applying to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) is needed to become a candidate.
“We plan to have that done in December of this year,” Sealey said.
Pre-accreditation would be another step. The goal is to complete that stage in 2023. Accreditation is the final step with the first graduating class.
Sealey said that the first class of students at Morgan is expected to matriculate there in August of 2024. When that timeline moves forward, the first graduating class will be 2028. After students graduate, MD-COM would then apply for accreditation since it can only be granted after the first class graduates.
Following the students reaching the pre-clinical stage consisting of two years of didactic training on the campus of Morgan at the Montebello complex, the last two years would consist of clinical years. They would be present in hospitals and doctors’ offices learning the clinical aspect of medicine, Sealey explained.
Sealey’s interest in medicine dates to his upbringing in North Carolina. Around in the sixth grade, an injury required him to see the local doctor. A young Sealey found himself at a segregated waiting room where “colored” patients were separated from white ones.
“I thought at that point in time that this is not going to be right, and when I grow up, I’m going to be a doctor so my patients can all go into the same waiting room,” Sealey said. “It was that that pushed me throughout all of my training.”
The experience fueled him to become the very best doctor that he could become. Sealey remarked that he never saw an African American physician until he attended North Carolina Central University at the health center on campus.
And now, Sealey is leading the way to partner with MSU to provide other young and medical-minded individuals with chances to pursue training as doctors.
“There has never been an osteopathic medical school at a historically Black college and university,” Sealey said, noting the opportunity to build an African American pipeline of future osteopathic doctors.
For more information about the proposed medical school, call Terry Jefferson at 443-885-2204, or email her via [email protected].