33°22′58″N 111°42′18″W / 33.38278°N 111.70500°W / 33.38278; -111.70500
 | |
| Type | Private medical school |
|---|---|
| Established | 2007 |
| President | Craig M. Phelps, D.O., FAOASM |
| Dean | Valerie Sheridan, D.O., FACOS, FACS[1] |
Academic staff | 176 full-time[2] 469 part-time[2] |
| Students | 425[3] |
| Location |
,
,
United States
|
| Campus | 22 acres (8.9 ha) |
| Website | atsu |
A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) is a private medical schoolinMesa, Arizona. It was established in 2007 as the 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.
SOMA is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).[4]
The medical program operates out of a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) building on the 22-acre (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 ATSU-Arizona School of Health Sciences, ATSU-Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, and the 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) East Valley Family YMCA.[5]
The curriculum at ATSU-SOMA is unique in that all of the clinical education is based at one of twelve community health centers throughout the country.[6]
ATSU-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.[7] Basic sciences are coupled with clinical sciences so that the students have a more comprehensive and practical foundation for each medical discipline.[8] 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.[7]
ATSU-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 2021, ATSU-SOMA offers 16 community health center opportunities in such locations as (Alphabetically, by State):[9]
