Not yet - but we are working on it! Dr. Mohr has been meeting weekly with Dr. Heather Laird-Fick, the program director of the ACGME approved MSU College of Human Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program and the hospital is fully supportive of the idea to merge the two programs into a large M.D. and D.O. program by July 2008! We cannot promise that this will happen - the new program still must receive approval from the Internal Medicine Residency Review Committee, but we are working hard to make this happen.
Graduates from osteopathic medical schools who complete a 'dually certified' residency program will be eligible to take the specialty board examination offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the American Board of Osteopathic Internal Medicine (ABOIM). While osteopathic graduates need only take the ABOIM, many feel that having ABIM certification improves their applications to allopathic subspecialty fellowships and jobs in predominately allopathic institutions. A greater benefit, is that residency training will be enhanced as the faculty physicians of Sparrow Hospital, Michigan State University's Colleges of Osteopathic and MSU's College of Human Medicine collaborate to maximize the educational resources in the region.
The osteopathic IM program was initially slated to grow to a maximum size of 12 residents when the program began in 2006. With plans underway to hopefully create a dually certified residency program, these numbers were revised. Sparrow presented a proposal to the ACOI in September 2007 to increase the size of the program to 18 residents. If a 'dually certified' program is approved by the ACGME, we will plan to grow to a total of 18 osteopathic residents and 18 to 24 allopathic residents for a combined residency of 36-42 trainees. This transition will occur over the next 3 years. Whether or not the merger takes place by July 2008, we will plan to take 6 new osteopathic residents each year.
What will happen if the ACGME does not approve the 'dually certified' program by 7/2008?
The programs will continue to operate as they are now, as separate entities. We will plan to combine our teaching services and didactic sessions with the allopathic program and have the rotation schedules match up. This MAY allow new osteopathic residents starting in 2008 to request advanced standing towards ABIM certification, but this remains to be seen.
You can do either (or both). However, there will be a unified interview and selection process for all osteopathic applicants.
How do I find out more about the allopathic program at Sparrow Hospital?
The web-site for the allopathic internal medicine program is: http://www.im.msu.edu/ . There will be changes in both programs as we move towards a merger, since both programs will need to meet the minimum requirements of both the ACGME and the AOA/ACOI. I would invite you to explore both their site and ours. I think you will easily see a cadre of dedicated teachers in an outstanding clinical environment. These two separate programs are already great - combining their strengths will be truly outstanding!
Currently, the Sparrow Osteopathic Internal Medicine Residency Program is 'owned' by Sparrow Hospital who contracts with MSU-COM's Department of Internal Medicine to provide leadership, curriculum development, key clinical faculty, and the ambulatory training clinic for the program. Sparrow is a member of the MSU Statewide Campus System which also provides oversight into the educational quality of the program. Most of the adjunct clinical faculty for the program are either Sparrow employed physicians or private practitioners.
The allopathic residency program at Sparrow is 'owned' by "Graduate Medical Education Incorporated" (GMEI), a distinct educational entity comprised of representatives from the hospitals and both colleges in the Lansing area. Sparrow Hospital provides funding for the GMEI Internal Medicine program through local and federal funding sources. As we move towards the goal of combining the two residency programs into a larger 'dually certified' program, the entire program will likely fall under the auspices of GMEI.