The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private, non-profit osteopathic medical school in Blacksburg, Virginia (VCOM-Virginia) with branch campuses located in Monroe (VCOM-Louisiana); Spartanburg, South Carolina (VCOM-Carolinas); and Auburn, Alabama (VCOM-Auburn). Founded in 2001, the college’s mission is to alleviate the critical shortage of physicians in Appalachia and the Delta Region by training medical students to become patient-centered physicians focusing on evidence-based medicine. The school emphasizes recruiting students from rural and medically underserved areas. Close to half of students come from rural communities with populations of less than 30,000. Over 65% of VCOM graduates practice in states with medically underserved counties.

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