The Clinical Education Consortium Model
As colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) rise to meet the growing need for physicians in rural and underserved communities, the Clinical Education Consortium Model presents a scalable paradigm shift that strengthens local training capacity, prepares future physicians and generates measurable regional value.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, this model is poised to cultivate more than 65 physicians by 2030, generate $20 million in annual regional impact and return $5 for every $1 spent (according to Tripp Umbach’s analysis), all at a substantially lower cost than launching a new medical school.
To provide the highly skilled care patients need, we must increase access to excellent clinical training for all future physicians and reduce the associated burdens and costs.
Insights from AACOM's 2023 Clinical Rotation Survey found:
83 percent of COM deans report moderate or major impact from competition with other COMs.
80 percent report moderate or major impact from competition with other health professions education programs.
73 percent say recruiting preceptors is harder than five years ago.
Learn more about the Consortium Model and how it enabled community of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to grow its physician workforce and generate local economic value.
Medical schools gain:
- Expanded access to clinical rotations,
- Reduced competition and administrative burden,
- Ability to reach new geographic regions and
- Predictable, sustained student physician pipelines.
Students receive:
- High-quality, community-based training in a welcoming setting,
- A learning community with students from several COMs and
- Local educational support for testing, housing, meals and related services.
Communities secure:
- A locally connected future physician workforce,
- Greater retention of care providers,
- Improved care access in high-need areas and
- Economic stimulation.
Clinical sites access:
- Centralized administrative and scheduling support,
- Stronger preceptor support and development and
- CME opportunities and faculty engagement.
The Consortium Model offers a national, replicable structure to strengthen community-based clinical training and local healthcare delivery, generate long-term economic and community value and deliver comparable workforce outcomes at a fraction of the cost of starting a medical school.
"This is a unique opportunity, not just for the students, but for our school and community. The osteopath[ic] education is really about local family-practice. It’s about developing doctors at the community level. Our long-term hope for the osteopathic medical students is for them to establish ties to the community, to also pursue a residency here with the Wright Center and to eventually practice in the region.”
—Jill Murray, President and Chief Innovation Officer at Lackawanna College
Why does this matter?
Alongside physician shortages, the healthcare landscape is becoming more complex. More Americans are living with chronic conditions that require ongoing, coordinated care and communities across the country are struggling to access affordable, timely, high-quality care.
Osteopathic medicine is rising to meet Americans’ demand for competent, compassionate healthcare that focuses on addressing the root cause of illness and the Consortium Model offers a clear path to help physicians serve in communities most in need.
"[The Consortium Model] is showing what’s possible when hospitals, healthcare organizations, higher ed and community partners work together. By expanding clinical education opportunities and creating stronger pathways for future physicians, this partnership is helping build our region’s healthcare workforce and improve access to care."
—Mayor Paige Cognetti (D-PA)
"The [Consortium Model] a cost-effective model for expanding physician training while strengthening local hospitals, supporting regional economic development and helping retain physicians in Northeastern Pennsylvania. By strengthening the connection between undergraduate and graduate medical education, the consortium is helping build a pathway from medical school to residency and, ultimately, to physician practice in the region. By strengthening these partnerships, we can ensure that high-quality healthcare remains close to home, while building a stronger, healthier future for families and communities across Northeastern Pennsylvania."
—State Representative Bridget Malloy Kosierowski (D-PA)
The Consortium Model, launched in Scranton, represents the first demonstration site in a broader national strategy, supported by AACOM, to expand community-based osteopathic clinical education.
An independent analysis from Tripp Umbach demonstrates how the Consortium Model can drive measurable workforce and economic impact by reducing costs and redundant administrative efforts, increasing teaching capacity and strengthening physician retention through better local alignment of undergraduate and graduate training.
How it started:
Three participating COMs (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine) sent a total of nine students for clinical rotations at participating sites.
Clinical sites (Commonwealth Health - Regional Hospital of Scranton and other Commonwealth Health facilities, Tenor Health Foundation, Scranton Primary Health Care Center, The Wright Center, Allied Services Healthcare System) provided rotation capacity across all core and required rotations, including emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, psychiatry and additional specialty rotations.
Lackawanna College provided centralized, comprehensive support services, including: preceptor recruitment and development, centralized student scheduling, housing coordination, testing facilities and simulation center access.
What a third-party analysis found:
Supporting Access to Care and Expansion of the Physician Workforce:
- Tripp Umbach projects that the Consortium creates the potential to add 65+ physicians to the region by 2030
- Addresses critical community health needs in high need specialties: maternal and behavioral health and chronic disease prevention and management
- Increases access to timely care, especially in underserved communities
Stimulating Economic Growth:
- Offers $2.7 million in regional economic activity projected in the pilot phase (FY25) and more than $20 million in annual regional impact by FY30
- Provides a $200 million physician-driven local economy supported by workforce growth by 2030, as projected by Tripp Umbach.
- Sustains (direct, indirect and induced) economic value stemming from growth in workforce pipeline:
- Each medical student contributes approximately $75,000 annually
- Each resident contributes approximately $450,000 annually
- Each retained physician could generate approximately $2.2 million annually
Better Outcomes Compared to Alternative Strategies:
- Operates at one-sixth the cost of a new DO medical school
- New DO medical schools cost ~$200 million in start-up costs and ~$90,000 annual cost per student
- Consortium Model costs $374,200 annually, averaging just $15,000 per third-year student
- According to Tripp Umbach’s analysis, over 10 years, the operating costs for the Consortium Model are nine times lower than the costs of operating a DO school and nearly 30 times lower when compared to the per-student start-up costs of a new medical school
- Produces similar workforce outcomes to new medical school
- Creates a significantly higher ROI; the Tripp Umbach analysis found that even in the pilot stage, the ROI for the Consortium Model is $5 for every $1 invested.
For Clinical Sites and Preceptors in Northeast Pennsylvania
Join the NEPA-CEC network. Contact Lackawanna College to learn how your practice or institution can participate.
For Communities Considering a Consortium Model
AACOM welcomes conversations with COMs, health systems, regional conveners, and workforce leaders interested in replicating this model. Connect with us to learn more.
For COMs Seeking Rotation Capacity
Explore partnerships with other COMs and learn how to develop a similar consortium in your region.
Questions?
To learn more about starting a regional program, complete this brief form. For other questions contact: learningsupport@aacom.org.
Good Community Candidates
Communities like yours may already have the foundation needed to train and retain more physicians. Strong candidates are communities with:
- Demonstrated gaps in healthcare;
- Hospitals, clinics and physicians ready to provide clinical training;
- Access to medical school partners and opportunities to develop or expand residency training and
- Local leaders that are willing to coordinate across institutions and support a shared mission.
Participation Value
The Consortium Model offers a coordinated approach to expanding physician training without the substantial startup investment of a new medical school. It can strengthen educational partnerships, bring student and resident spending into the local economy and create clearer pathways for physicians to build careers in the region.
This means more locally trained physicians, stronger connections to underserved communities and improved access to care.
“My wife and I, we’ve been here for a little while (and) we’ve pretty much decided that we would love to stay as practicing physicians because we love the community here. I think that the community definitely is in need for physicians, and … even when I was applying for medical school I remember how important it was for me to practice in a community that needs me and (where) I would feel, like, appreciated. ... You go into being a practicing physician already knowing your patients, your population, where the need is and how you can contribute to that, and so all these things come together and they make me excited to stay here, to train, to be practicing in the area.”
—David Karpe, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine student, completing clinical rotations in Scranton.
About the Consortium Model
Established in 2023 and led by Lackawanna College, the first Consortium Model connects multiple COMs with hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community providers across Northeast Pennsylvania to reduce costs while improving access to and the quality of healthcare in the region.