This fall will mark a historical moment in North Carolina when we open our School of Osteopathic Medicine, the first medical school to open in the state in more than 35 years. Responding to the need for primary care physicians in North Carolina, especially in rural areas, our medical school will primarily focus on training community-based osteopathic physicians who work in underserved regions. Our first class will have 150 students, making us the second largest medical school in North Carolina.

We began addressing health care issues when our nationally-acclaimed Doctor of Pharmacy program started in 1986. Since then, we’ve been offering clinical-oriented pharmacy training to prepare pharmacists who go on to assume active and crucial roles as drug therapy specialists. In fact, our graduates have maintained one of the nation’s best passages rates -- 98 percent -- on the national pharmacy board exams. We also have one of the nation’s premiere pre-pharmacy programs, which prepare undergraduate students for advanced study.

We anticipate enrolling our first students in our Doctor of Physical Therapy program in January 2014. This 36-month, full-time program will be committed to producing licensed physical therapists who are passionate about expanding health care access to underserved communities, especially in rural areas. The program will offer service learning and clinical experiences, while integrating real-world situations and hands-on training into instruction. Our students will be prepared to be independent, autonomous practitioners who function as part of a comprehensive inter-professional health care team.

The N.C. Institute of Medicine predicts a shortage of primary care providers in North Carolina over the next decade. Our Master of Physician Assistant Practice program aims to help fill this void by placing an emphasis on primary care and practicing in underserved areas. We also have strong partnerships with local practices and an on-campus clinic where our students complete rotations and work alongside other health care professionals. Through this focus on collaboration and patient-centered, clinically-practical curriculum, our students are prepared to provide excellent primary care to patients in disadvantaged areas.

Service that benefits underserved communities is at the core of our Master of Science in Public Health. To complement an educational foundation in research and outcomes evaluation, this program embeds students in rural communities through service and experiential learning opportunities. This allows our students to see firsthand the barriers to health care and to gain a real-world perspective on how to find meaningful solutions to those problems, preparing them for the various career opportunities in public health, which include as epidemiologists, health administrators, or health care consultants.

Our master’s and bachelor’s degrees in clinical research are grounded in scientific method and hands-on training. Our graduate program places students under the guidance of research mentors as they enhance their ability to investigate and access new and improved treatments and diagnostics. Our undergraduate students receive tangible experiences, too, through extensive internships at clinical research organizations. These opportunities give students in both programs the skillset and knowledge they need to improve people’s health throughout their careers, whether in education, industry, medical, or research settings.

Specialized and practical training is the hallmark of our pharmaceutical sciences program. Graduate students conduct research and complete lab-based courses in facilities that have the same technology and equipment used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Our undergraduate students receive one of the most extensive laboratory-based educations in North Carolina and complete their education with a semester-long internship. Because of these opportunities, our graduates make significant contributions related to drug delivery and development throughout their careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

The National Institute of Medicine has called for the training of more nurses at the baccalaureate level because of the growing shortage of these professionals. That’s why we’ve proposed launching a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2014, contingent on the N.C. Board of Nursing approval. Our students in the program will take basic and general core requirements in the first two years and professional nursing courses with clinical and laboratory components in the final two years. They will also engage with other health science students and receive an interdisciplinary education, preparing them to meet the need for highly-skilled nurses who work in a team-based health care setting.

Health care management professionals today must deal with changing demographics, technological advancements, complex regulations and delivery systems, public health policy initiatives, and other rapidly evolving issues. Our undergraduate degree in health care management prepares tomorrow’s leaders in the health industry with the skills, training, and experiences they need to address these challenges and to pioneer solutions that improve the quality and efficiency of health organizations.

Communications plays a key role in the promotion of health and wellness and in the prevention of diseases. Our undergraduate major in health communications combines theory and practice to equip students with broad competency skills so they can help deliver this critical role. Our health communications students go on to work with public health agencies, hospitals, and educational institutions, where they develop communications and marketing campaigns that improve and save lives.

We offer six dual degree programs in the health sciences, including the only physician assistant and public health dual degree in North Carolina. The other dual degrees are offered with the Doctor of Pharmacy program and combine training with public health, business administration, pharmaceutical sciences, or clinical research. The combination of these degrees provides students with broader knowledge and a deeper understanding that prepares them to be leaders and innovators in health care.

The ever changing health care field demands increased interprofessional collaboration and practice to provide safe, patient-centered care. If practitioners are expected to function in an interprofessional practice, then schools and colleges must provide their students with the skills needed through interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities