New partnership between Pittsburg State and Kansas City University accelerates medical students' education
Mar. 6—PITTSBURG, Kan. — Pittsburg State University and Kansas City University announced a new partnership Wednesday, giving PSU students an accelerated medical and dental school education path.
The new partnership called AMP-UP — Accelerated Medical Path Undergraduate Program — will begin with the fall 2024 semester.
Officials said the program will help students save time and money during their education. It will also get them into the medical field quickly at a time when their services are in high demand in rural areas.
"This partnership will save students a full year because they will begin their post-graduate work a year earlier than what a traditional pre-med or pre-dental undergraduate track allows," Dr. Richard Schooler, vice president of KCU-Joplin and a PSU graduate, said in a statement. "It is a very important collaborative effort between PSU and KCU to offer regional students a unique opportunity to complete college and their medical or dental education with a condensed pathway close to home."
Students who meet eligibility will apply for acceptance into AMP-UP in their freshman year at PSU. In turn, KCU-Joplin will reserve up to 25 seats in the College of Osteopathic Medicine and 10 seats in the College of Dental Medicine for students admitted to KCU through this program.
Upon completion of 90 hours and all prerequisites, students accepted into KCU through AMP-UP will have the opportunity to then transition to KCU-Joplin in their senior year. There will also be an opportunity for medical students to attend KCU's Kansas City campus.
After completing their first year of medical or dental school at KCU, students will receive a bachelor's degree from PSU.
In their remaining three years of school, they'll be able to complete their education at medical or dental school.
The AMP-UP program has tremendous potential to impact rural health care in the region, Dr. Mindi Garner, founder of the Pre-Meds with Promise program, said in a statement.
"By immersing PSU students in our medical community earlier than usual, it will build strong relationships with Pittsburg area doctors and continue through their medical school studies close by in Joplin," Garner said. "Doctors will be more likely to return home to work alongside their mentors who have nurtured them along the way to serve the people in Southeast Kansas."
KCU is the fifth-largest medical school in the nation by class size, and the top producer of physicians for Missouri, the second top producer of physicians for Kansas, and the ninth most "impactful medical school addressing rural health care and primary health care needs in the nation," PSU reported in a news release, citing data released by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
