A new medical school is opening in downtown Wichita with its first class of 91 students.
The Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in the former State Office Building at Broadway and William. It has 116,000 square feet with classrooms, labs, and workshops as well as examination rooms that will allow students to simulate experiences working with patients.
Students went through orientation on Friday and classes will begin Monday. There are 18 students from Wichita and Kansas. The school is planning for 127 students next year, and 170 students each year after that.
Interim Dean David Ninan said a goal of the school is to address a shortage of doctors in Kansas, especially in underserved areas. He said the school wants to emulate the experience that a practicing physician will have, and there will be high-tech mannequins in examination rooms, along with actors portraying patients who will come in with symptoms.
Ninan said osteopathic medicine is traditionally how medical education begins, and the four-year program will give students the background and the overview to continue medical training and begin their careers.
