Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Rocky Vista University

Other name	RVU
Motto in English	Achieving New Heights in Medical Education
Type	Private for-profit osteopathic medical school
Established	2006
Founder	Yife Tien[1]
Parent institution	Medforth Global Healthcare Education
Affiliation	St. George's University
President	David Forstein
Location	Englewood, Ivins, and Billings , Colorado, Utah, and Montana , United States
Colors	RVBlue and Summit Gold
Website	www.rvu.edu

Rocky Vista University (RVU) is a private, for-profit medical school with campus locations in Englewood, Colorado, Ivins, Utah, and Billings, Montana The school opened in 2006 as the only modern for-profit medical school in the United States although other for-profit schools have since opened. Every campus is equipped with a simulation center, standardized patient rooms, active learning classrooms, a comprehensive anatomy cadaver lab, a dedicated research facility, an extensive library, and abundant study spaces throughout the campus.

History

Rocky Vista University opened in 2006, and the first class was admitted in 2008. The school graduated its inaugural class on May 19, 2012. In 2017, a second campus was opened in Ivins, Utah, admitting its first class of osteopathic medical students in the fall of 2017. In September 2018, the first class of physician assistant students began coursework.

The college is fully accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, and regionally by the Higher Learning Commission.^[2][3]

In 2023, Rocky Vista University opened a new medical school, the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Billings, Montana.^[4]

Academics

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

RVU offers a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree at the Colorado, Utah, and Montana campuses. RVU's rigorous curriculum is a proven systems-based, clinically integrated academic model delivered in a new and innovative way. RVU's experienced faculty teach how to approach medicine holistically through the principles and practice of osteopathic medicine. Students get hands-on experience starting from the first semester to prepare for the real world of healthcare delivery. Wellness, resilience, and professionalism are essential to physician practice, and RVU emphasizes these throughout the entire curriculum. In the third and fourth years, students work alongside physicians and healthcare teams with one of RVU's many regional health center partners.

Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

A Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program is offered at the Colorado campus. The MPAS curriculum is adapted from a competency-based model. Graduate outcomes are identified based on core clinical tasks grounded in patient safety.

Advancing sequencing of competencies support learner progression from novice, to competent physician assistant. Learning experiences resemble the practice environment and are tied to an essential graduate ability. Clinical teaching emphasizes learning through experience and application.

The didactic phase of training is two semesters in length and moves the learner from foundational concepts to clinically oriented content. The subsequent five semesters of clinical training are dedicated to advancing the student to the level of “competent” for all core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs).

Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be prepared to enter the physician assistant profession, obtain national certification, gain state licensure, and provide clinically competent and compassionate care as part of a collaborative patient-centered team.

Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS)

A Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) program is offered at the Colorado and Utah campuses. The MSBS program at RVU is a 9-month, interdisciplinary post baccalaureate program designed to prepare the student to enter professional and/or advanced degree programs in biomedical disciplines.

The program offers a core curriculum in biomedical sciences (31 credit hours) that is intended to strengthen the student’s academic record and qualifications for candidacy at medical, veterinary, dental, physician assistant, or other professional schools.

The MSBS program’s innovative curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and correlates basic science information with clinical application.

Master of Medical Sciences (MMS)

The Master of Medical Sciences (MMS) program is offered at the Montana campus. The MMS program a 1-year program that has been carefully designed for students who have a strong ambition to go to medical school or other health professional schools but do not yet meet the requirements after they've completed their undergraduate degree.

Courses cover the normal functioning of the systems of the human body. Students in the program are immersed in the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (MCOM) curriculum, in Billings, Montana. This is so that candidates can gain foundational biomedical sciences knowledge alongside first year medical students. All courses are offered and taught by MCOM faculty.

Students will gain admission to the MCOM after the program if the following standards are met: conferral of the MMS degree without remediation or course repeat, an MMS Program GPA of 3.45 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), a “Pass” on the MMS Comprehensive Examination without remediation, a letter of recommendation from MMS faculty supporting admission into the DO Program, no professionalism infractions while enrolled at RVU, pass a pre-matriculation background check, approval by the MCOM DO admissions committee, and approval by the MMS Program Director.

Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP)

The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) program will be offered at the Colorado Campus. RVU’s DNAP program will offer an intensive 36-month course of study that is structured in two key stages: an initial didactic phase and an immersive clinical phase. Academic Phase (Months 1-16): The journey begins with 16 months dedicated to classroom learning, enriched by advanced simulation exercises. This foundational period equips students with the critical scientific knowledge underpinning anesthesia. Clinical Phase (Months 17-36): The subsequent 20 months transition students to hands-on clinical practice, supplemented with ongoing specialized instruction and comprehensive preparation for board examinations. A Doctoral scholarly project is a capstone of this phase, reflecting the student’s academic and clinical growth. Graduates become qualified to take the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) national certifying examination. Achieving certification is the gateway to obtaining state licensure.

For-profit status

RVU is notable for being the first modern day, for-profit medical school operating in the United States. As such, its opening generated controversy. Critics raise concerns that a for-profit school will be beholden to investors, and lack credibility. Supporters say that the school is held to the same academic and accreditation standards as other medical schools.^[5][6]

Rocky Vista LLC was founded by Yife Tien and his wife Lucy Chua Tien, MD in 2006 and governed by a board of trustees.^[1] Castle Pines Holdings LLC was established as a holding company to control the Tiens' interest in Rocky Vista LLC and provide stability in the event of Tien's death or incapacity.^[7] In 2019, the ownership of Rocky Vista University was transferred to Medforth Global Healthcare Education, the owner-operator of St. George's University in Grenada.^[8][9]

Graduate medical education

Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado, has been awarded a five-year $770,000 federal grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to train primary care internal medicine residents. Parkview has developed a new osteopathic internal medicine residency program which matriculated its first trainees in July 2012. The grant was a joint effort of Parkview Medical Center and Rocky Vista University along with the Center for Medical Education Excellence (formerly known as Rocky Mountain OPTI).^[10] RVUCOM and the Center for Medical Education Excellence are currently working to establish additional residency programs in Colorado and Wyoming.^[11]

HealthONE/Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado is also a participant in the Center for Medical Education Excellence, and is the site of an internal medicine residency program which collaborates with RVU.^[12]

Rocky Vista Health Center

RVU owns and operates the health clinic, Rocky Vista Health Center (RVHC), located on the Colorado campus. The clinic is a primary care medical facility which provides continued health care and health maintenance for its patients. In addition to primary care, the clinic provides services in internal medicine, sports medicine, and osteopathic manipulation. The clinic employs board certified M.D. and D.O. physicians as well as resident physicians.

Advanced medical students of the college are periodically selected to work in the health clinic as “Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Fellows.” Under the supervision of board-certified physicians, these students provide osteopathic manipulation to patients at discounted rates. The clinic accepts Medicaid and Medicare patients to help the underserved in the Denver and Parker area.^[13]

See also

• List of medical schools in the United States
• Osteopathic medicine in the United States

References

External links

• Official website

This page was last edited on 8 April 2024, at 21:03