Established 2007 Location Mesa, Arizona, USA Website atsu.edu/soma Founded 2007 Provost Craig M. Phelps | Dean Kay Kalousek, DO Campus 22 acres Phone +1 480-219-6000 Number of students 425 | |
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Academic staff 176 full-time
469 part-time Address 5850 E Still Cir, Mesa, AZ 85206, USA Similar ASDOH Dental Clinic, Carrington College, Midwestern University, Pima Medical Institute, Benedicti University at Mesa | ||
A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) is an osteopathic medical school in the United States granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. Established in 2007, ATSU-SOMA is located at the Mesa, Arizona campus of A.T. Still University. A.T. Still University (ATSU) is the original founding institution of osteopathic healthcare, established in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still in Kirksville, Missouri.
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SOMA is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
Campus
The campus operates in a portion of a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) building on the 22 acres (89,000 m2) campus of A.T. Still University in Mesa. The campus is the anchor of the Arizona Health & Technology Park, a 132-acre (0.53 km2) education, healthcare, and technology triangle owned by ATSU and Vanguard Health Systems. The master plan for the new park includes hospitals, long-term care facilities, professional offices, and product development research facilities.
The campus is also home to the Arizona School of Health Sciences, Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, and the 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) East Valley Family YMCA.
Curriculum
The curriculum at SOMA is unique in that all of the clinical education is based at one of twelve community health centers throughout the country.
Training
SOMA uses the Clinical Presentation Educational Model which teaches that there are about 120 different ways that a patient can present themself to a physician. The teaching method was based on a method developed in 1994 by the University of Calgary. Basic sciences are coupled with clinical sciences so that the students have a more comprehensive and practical foundation for each medical discipline. The curriculum design emphasizes clinical competencies which allows students to enter residency programs with greater experience with chronic disease than students educated in the majority of tertiary care-oriented academic health centers.
Community Health Center Locations
SOMA is unique in that the first year is spent at the Mesa campus and the last three years at one of many community health centers. As of 2016, SOMA offers 12 community health center opportunities in such locations as: