Western New York's first new medical school in nearly 200 years started classes Monday as D'Youville University College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomed its inaugural class.
It's the first to open in Western New York since the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedial Sciences opened in 1847.
Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Nicholas Camposeo, took time to reflect on this coming to fruition and what this first class means for the future of the program.
"We're here. This is the fruit of our labor. We worked so hard for this for years, dozens of people, time, and effort," he said. "Being an inaugural class is an amazing opportunity, but also a privilege in that they get to help shape the school."
Camposeo said the main goal of the program is to build competent physicians in the healthcare industry.
"They have to go out there and be able to take care of our neighbors and our family, and that's a massive privilege, but also a big undertaking for every single student," he said. "So I always say, medical school is hard. Doesn't matter where you go; it is probably one of the most challenging curricula that any person could face. But I think with the team we have here, we've designed the rollout for the classes and the labs so that it'll be in a position, or hopefully roll down in a way that the students will be able to take it bite by bite and not feel overwhelmed."
D'Youville would like the program to lead to an increase in physicians in Western New York, something Camposeo said is lacking locally and nationally.
"Primary care is one of the biggest gaps right now in healthcare access. Most patients have difficulty finding a primary care physician, whether it be just access to healthcare or availability," He added, "We're eventually going to grow out to have 180 students. That's 180 extra opportunities to get people either back to Buffalo or in Buffalo. That's my goal."
Camposeo said the staff is diverse and balanced in areas of expertise.
"We have a fantastic team that's joined us, and a talented bunch of MDs, there's DOs, there's PhDs, there's EdDs," he said. "So we have doctorates of all different backgrounds and different strengths, and that's truly, again, kind of the same idea: you need a diverse team to deliver excellent medical education."
Dr. Wei-Ming Duan, professor and chair of anatomy, gave the first lecture for the College of Osteopathic Medicine on Monday.
