Crimson and Gold Connection; Virginia Rider

Welcome to Crimson and Gold Connection, keeping you connected with the people and current events at Pittsburgh State University. Welcome to the Crimson and Gold Connection. My name is Dustin Tribeur, and today we have Virginia Ryder, and she's going to be speaking to us about the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Medical Center that will be coming to Joplin soon. Virginia, you are a university professor in biology, and you've been at Pitt State for quite some time, have actually have awards for how great of a teacher you are. So, welcome today. Thank you, I'm glad to be here. Okay, well tell me more about this. It's shortened to the KCUMB, but the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Well, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences has been located in Kansas City for a long time. And they're now our plans, and they've had the groundbreaking ceremony in Joplin, and they're going to extend a campus then into the Joplin region, hoping to attract students from the four state region to attend medical school. So, currently several students from around the area go to Kansas City, is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. We being Pittsburgh State University, our pre-medical students, have been attending KCU since I came to campus in 2000. We've had about 37 students who've gone up to KCU and graduated, and so we have a longstanding history and excellent interaction with the medical school up in Kansas City. The Joplin campus, what they're hoping to accomplish there, is to recruit students from this area who would like to stay in this area, many of whom are interested in rural medicine as a career choice. So, I guess a lot of the students that go to KC, actually, actually Kansas City, they actually probably come from Kansas City, come down here for the pre-med and then go back to Kansas City, is that, am I getting that correct? Yes, we are pre-medical students and I'm just going to give them a plug for being some of the best students in the whole United States because they really are super students. And they come primarily from the four-state region, but they come from Kansas City, there are students here from Oklahoma, from Arkansas, and quite a few from Missouri as well. And the students do a four-year degree here on campus, which is a degree in biology or chemistry or psychology, with prerequisite classes that they have to take in order to apply for medical school.

They apply for medical school in the third year and they have to take a specialized exam called the Medical College Admission Test. And if their scores are good on the test and they have good grades, then they may be considered for an interview and then they apply, then at the end of the third year, they'll start to interview and they'll find out, usually in the fall semester of their senior year, whether they're accepted or not. Great. One of the things that I think is going to be so important about the medical school, and I think we at Pittsburgh State are very supportive and excited that the campus is going to be located in Joplin. Because one of the things that will happen when you bring in and they're estimating about 150 students in the starting class when they open in 2017.

One of the benefits of the medical school being located here is the network of the medical or healthcare community that's going to develop. And this will include not only medical students, first, second, third, fourth year medical students, but there will also be opening new clinical opportunities to train the students. So there will be a wealth of healthcare opportunities, not just for the medical students, per se, but also for undergraduates to interact, the pre-medical students to interact with faculty and with medical students, with residents. So I think in the much bigger picture, the medical school is going to contribute hugely to the economy of the region, as well as to opportunities in healthcare that are going to be so important for our students that currently don't exist in this region. Do you have anything else you want to add to any students that may be looking into this program?

Well, I think that we have a very long and successful history of having pre-medical students successfully get into medical schools. I'm very pleased that KCU has set the standard or the bar high for students who want to go into medical school. So I think it's very important for students to understand right from their freshman year what is required of them. And I think we at Pittsburgh State do a very good job of preparing students for medical school. And so they are the ones who have to actually do the work, but I think it's important for them to understand and be supported of what is required to attend medical school. We also have, and I would just mention this as for the last 15 years or so, we've had what's called an articulation agreement with KCU. And this is essentially an early decision program where students who have a good ACT score and have completed the first year of college with the hardcore science classes

and good grades in those classes. And these students are sure that medical school is a good choice for them. They can be accepted into KCU with three years of undergraduate work rather than the four years. We've had several students who've participated in this program in the past. And these students are so motivated that they usually finish their four-year degree in three years and go to KCU. In the event that the students take the three-year option after the students have completed the first year of medical school at KCU, they can apply for a bachelor's degree in biology from Pittsburgh State. And we award them the bachelor's degree based on the last 30 hours or so that they complete up at KCU.

Well, it sounds like some great things going on in the near future with the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Medical School that will be opening in Joplin. Virginia Ryder, thank you so much for speaking with us today on the Crimson & Gold Connection. Thank you. Thank you, Dustin. It's been a pleasure. Join us for Crimson & Gold Connection Wednesdays at 850 and Fridays at 350.