Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

. Founded in 2005, the university's inaugural program was the first new medical school to open in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

in sixty years. PNWU grants the

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licens ...

(D.O.) degree and graduated its first class of physicians in May 2012. It is accredited by the

American Osteopathic Association The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is the representative member organization for the more than 176,000 osteopathic medical doctors (D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students in the United States. The AOA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinoi ...

Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation The American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) accredits medical schools granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree in the United States. The US Department of Education lists the Co ...

History

The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences opened in 2005, after planning and fundraising to open a new osteopathic medical school in Washington State. In 2007, PNWU received provisional accreditation. In 2008, the first courses began, and the university's main building, Butler-Haney Hall, opened at a cost of $13 million. In 2009, the university received a $400,000 federal grant to expand the College of Allied Health Sciences. In 2012, the inaugural class of 69 students graduated, earning the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. Initially, PNWU encountered challenges finding rotation sites for medical students, as hospital already offering training to students from the University of Washington refused additional students. The school advocated for a state bill, which was passed into law, preventing hospitals. In 2015, PNWU was awarded a $1.75 million grant to develop an

interprofessional education Interprofessional education (also known as inter-professional education or “IPE”) refers to occasions when students from two or more professions in health and social care learn together during all or part of their professional training with the ...

program from the

Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for peop ...

Academics

The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences consists of a single college, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, which grants the

(DO) degree. It is a four-year program. Years 1 and 2 of the DO program consist primarily of classroom-based learning, which focus on the basic sciences. Years 3 and 4 of the DO program consist of

clinical rotations Clinical clerkships encompass a period of medical education in which students – medical, nursing, dental, or otherwise – practice medicine under the supervision of a health practitioner. Medical clerkships In medical education, a clerksh ...

in off-site communities. The school currently has 18 sites for clinical rotations over the five-state region of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Students are required to go to many parts of the Northwestern United States to receive hands-on training. These sites include

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

;

Blackfoot, Idaho Blackfoot (Shoshoni language: Soo-gahni) is a city in Bingham County, Idaho. The population was 11,907 at the time of the 2019 census. The city is the county seat of Bingham County. Blackfoot boasts the largest potato industry in any one area, and ...

; and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

among 15 others.

Campus

The campus now consists of four buildings. Butler-Haney Hall is the center of the school where instruction and training occur, as well as housing the College of Osteopathic Medicine's Library. A new addition to Butler-Haney Hall was completed in 2013. Cadwell Center opened in January 2011, and provides additional rooms for study, classroom and research space. A new University Conference Center was complete by the spring of 2015 and this building coupled with Iron Horse Lodge (Administration building) brings the total of four buildings to the growing PNWU campus. Starting in the fall of 2015 PNWU in conjunction with Washington State University will be opening a Pharmacy school which will be granting PharmD degrees. A local business developer is in the finishing touches of completing a three-story series of single-, two- and three-bedroom apartments immediately to the south of campus. Construction on Project NEXT, a 35,000 square-foot addition to campus. The space aims to add additional resources for increased interprofessional education.

Students

A total of 568 students are in attendance at PNWU for the 2017-2018 academic year. About 52 percent of PNWU students are female; 48 percent are male. About 67% are White/Non-Hispanic, 13% Asian/Pacific Islander, 6% Hispanic, 4% Black or African American, 6% identify as two or more ethnicities, and the remaining 3% of students are of undeclared ethnicity. Students at PNWU participate in a number of clubs on campus and an active

student government association A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

. Clubs on campus include:

American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians The American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians (ACOEP) is a professional organization of emergency medicine physicians. It was founded in 1975. Active membership is open only to osteopathic (D.O.) medical physicians who have practiced e ...

(ACOEP),

American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians The American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) is a professional association and a medical specialty college in the United States. Its membership consists of osteopathic physicians who practice family medicine, residents and medical ...

(ACOFP),

American Medical Student Association The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is an independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed national organization.They have a membership ...

(AMSA). There is an active chapter of

Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma Phi ( or SSP), is the national osteopathic medicine honors fraternity for medical students training to be Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). The National Osteopathic Medicine Honors Fraternity is a group united in the interest of ...

, the osteopathic honors society.

Accreditation

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and the College of Osteopathic Medicine is accredited by the

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Osteopathic medical schools in the United States Medical schools in Washington (state) Educational institutions established in 2008 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Private universities and colleges in Washington (state) Education in Yakima, Washington 2008 establishments in Washington (state)