Northeast Pennsylvania Clinical Education Consortium (NEPA-CEC)

Solving the Clinical Training Crisis

A scalable, community-based model for osteopathic medical education

The Challenge

As the number of medical schools has grown nearly 25% since 2022, medical schools across the country are struggling to secure enough clinical training sites for their students. Competition for rotations and preceptors is intensifying even as medical school enrollment continues growing. Combined MD and DO enrollment has increased 52% since 2002, far outpacing growth in clinical training capacity.

Among Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (COMs):

• 83% report moderate or major impact from competition with other COMs
• 80% report moderate or major impact from competition with other health professions programs
• 73% say recruiting preceptors is harder than five years ago

*Source: AACOM Clinical Rotation Survey (2023)

The result is rising costs, administrative burden and increasing strain on clinical partners. To keep up, schools are expanding geographically, increasing payments and competing for the same limited pool of sites—an approach that is costly, inefficient and unsustainable.

A Better Way: The Consortium Model

The Northeast Pennsylvania Clinical Education Consortium (NEPA-CEC) demonstrates a proven alternative. Rather than each medical school competing independently for clinical sites, NEPA-CEC creates shared regional infrastructure that benefits everyone:

• Medical schools gain access to expanded rotation capacity
• Clinical sites receive administrative and scheduling support
• Communities benefit from a stronger locally connected physician pipeline

Supported by AACOM, NEPA-CEC is a national demonstration site that expands clinical education through a consortium model—without creating a new medical school. An independent Tripp Umbach analysis confirms this approach delivers comparable workforce outcomes at a fraction of the cost, offering a replicable national model.

NEPA-CEC in Action

Established in 2024 and led by Lackawanna College, NEPA-CEC shows how this model works in practice. The consortium connects multiple COMs with hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community providers across Northeast Pennsylvania.

Current Scope

• Three participating COMs sending a total of 36 students for clinical rotations
• Rotation capacity across all core and required rotations, including Emergency Medicine (EM), Family Medicine (FM), General Surgery, Internal Medicine (IM), OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and additional specialty rotations.
• Comprehensive support services, including: preceptor recruitment and development, centralized student scheduling, housing coordination, testing facilities and simulation center access

Participating Partners

• Consortium Lead: Lackawanna College (administrative and coordination hub)
• Clinical Partners: Commonwealth Health, Scranton Primary Health Care Center (FQHC), The Wright Center (primary care and OMM), Allied Services Healthcare System
• Participating COMs: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM), University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM)

Proven Benefits, Replicable Impact

NEPA-CEC represents the first demonstration site in a broader national strategy, supported by AACOM, to expand community-based osteopathic clinical education.

Independent analysis shows that the NEPA‑CEC model delivers cost‑effective expansion of medical education by reducing redundant administrative and recruiting efforts, increasing teaching capacity, and strengthening physician retention through better local alignment of undergraduate and graduate training.

This makes the consortium model especially attractive for regions seeking cost-effective scalable workforce solutions.  Specific benefits include:  

• Clinical Sites & Preceptors
  One point of contact for multiple medical schools results in more predictable and coordinated student scheduling. They also have wider access to expanded preceptor development, CME opportunities and faculty appointments.
  
• Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine 
  COMs gain greater access to rotation capacity that would be difficult to develop independently, experience reduced competition through collaboration and the shared infrastructure, leading to lower administrative costs and the ability to reach new geographic regions.
  
• Communities benefit from increased access to medical trainees and a stronger physician retention rate due to local training pathways.
  

---

Interested in Starting a Consortium in Your Region? 

AACOM is here to help!

We support regions interested in consortium-based clinical education by sharing best practices and lessons learned, supporting governance, scheduling and partnership design and connecting institutions pursuing collaborative approaches.