By Daisy Gibbons, WV News
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine will expand its degree portfolio next academic year, offering a new Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree program.
The School of Osteopathic Medicine’s graduate program will place an emphasis on lifestyle and chronic disease prevention by teaching the science behind those issues.
“There is not enough emphasis in programs focusing on health and wellness,” President James Nemitz said. “Most medical schools focus on disease and how to treat those diseases. And of course, we offer all of that. But the reality is we need to put more emphasis on what keeps somebody healthy and what keeps somebody well. And both for our medical school as well as for this graduate program, we’re focusing on health and wellness because I think that is where you need to put the focus.”
The new degree, which received accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission on Jan. 12, is a two-semester, nine-month program.
It includes a core of biomedical science courses designed to prepare students for advanced study in any health profession.
“The thing is a student could come out with a master’s degree and have science and biomedical sciences,” Nemitz said. “If they don’t go on to professional school, they can go on to another career in terms of health, like a health coach or a patient navigator.”
