Blog Articles
Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine to Celebrate Inaugural Graduating Class at Historic First Commencement
Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) will celebrate a major milestone this Saturday, May 9, when it hosts commencement for the inaugural class of its Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM). The first osteopathic medical school in Kansas, KansasCOM will graduate 75 new physicians at this landmark ceremony. “This moment marks not just the culmination of our students’ extraordinary hard Read more >
KansasCOM Students Bring Women’s Health Education to Juvenile Detention Facility
KansasCOM student doctors brought vital women’s health education to young residents at the Sedgwick County Juvenile Detention Facility, creating an open, judgment‑free space for questions. Through the Ark of Hope chapter at KHSU, the volunteers offered guidance and strengthened a growing partnership focused on empowering justice‑involved youth. The room was quiet at first inside the Sedgwick County Corrections Juvenile Read more >
Endowment Opens Doors for Aspiring KansasCOM Physicians
Student experiences at KansasCOM show how deeply scholarship support can influence a future physician’s journey. Those stories set the stage for the new Carl M. and Ruth L. Coonrod Endowed Scholarship Fund, a long-term source of financial assistance designed to strengthen Kansas’ health care workforce. When second-year medical student Laura Bishop-Gillen first arrived in Wichita with her husband and Read more >
Hands-On Medical Training in Kansas: How KansasCOM Prepares Future Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine
Explore KansasCOM’s DO program: hands-on clinical rotations in rural and urban settings preparing future osteopathic physicians for real-world practice. Underserved communities face limited access to health care, where routine appointments can require hours of travel and consistent care is harder to find close to home. For patients, these realities make the need for well-prepared, community-minded physicians especially urgent. Read more >
5 Reasons Students Fall in Love With Wichita
Living in Wichita as a medical student at KHSU offers affordability, community connection, and balance throughout your DO journey. Choosing a medical school means choosing where you will live, grow, and train during some of the most formative years of your life. Medical student life is demanding, and where you spend it matters, not just academically but personally and Read more >
How KansasCOM Students Prepare for the COMLEX: Study Habits, Support, and Strategy
Learn how KansasCOM students prepare for the COMLEX through structured study plans, faculty support, full-length practice exams, and wellness resources. For students pursuing a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree, passing the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) is a requirement for licensure and clinical practice. These board exams are designed to assess a future physician’s knowledge and clinical Read more >
Leadership With a Human Touch: Dean Eric Gish’s Philosophy Is Shaping KansasCOM
There is a calm precision to the way Eric Gish, DO, listens; a habit honed through decades of practicing osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), where connection and attentiveness guide every interaction. His relational mindset shapes his style of leadership at the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. When Dr. Gish assumed the role of dean in late 2025, he named two Read more >
Kansas Health Science University Announces $300,000 Mabee Foundation Challenge to Build Biomedical Science Laboratory
Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) has announced a $300,000 capstone challenge grant to enhance educational instruction at its downtown Wichita campus. The grant will fund the university’s new biomedical science laboratory, KHSU’s first major capital construction project since opening its doors in 2022. “We are grateful to the JE & LE Mabee Foundation of Tulsa for this opportunity,” said Read more >
Kansas Health Science University Appoints New Dean and Expands Leadership Team With Vice President of Academic Affairs
Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) has appointed Eric Gish, DO, as dean of its Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM), Kansas’ first osteopathic medical school, and has expanded the leadership team by appointing Ronnie B. Martin, DO, to the new role of vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer. Dr. Gish comes to KansasCOM from Buies Creek, Read more >
Clinical Rotations at KansasCOM: 8 Essential Skills Every Future DO Builds in Real Community Settings
KansasCOM’s community-based clinical rotations build key skills for future DOs, including clinical judgment, clear communication, and patient-centered care. By Sydney Strickland Clinical rotations are where Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine students begin applying their training in real care environments. In the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program, rotations take place in community-based sites across Kansas, giving students exposure to Read more >
Riverside’s Legacy: A Pillar of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas
This spring, Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) will graduate its inaugural class of physicians from the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM). These new Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) will continue a century-old legacy of osteopathy in Wichita. One shaped by Riverside Hospital and carried forward by the Riverside Health Foundation. From 10 Beds to a Major Read more >
KansasCOM Students See Ties Between Community and Care
KansasCOM students connect with Wichita nonprofits to understand how community conditions, relationships, and access to resources influence patient health. Osteopathic medicine begins with the idea that the body is a unified whole, comprising body, mind, and spirit, and is capable of self-regulation when its systems function in harmony. Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) also recognize that the interrelationship of Read more >
AI in Medical Research Brings the Unseen Into View
At KansasCOM, researchers use AI to reveal unseen links between health, environment, and culture, advancing equity and improving patient outcomes. At Kansas Health Science University’s Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM), students learn from faculty at the forefront of research and technology. Among them are two researchers who are applying artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover hidden patterns in health Read more >
Coonrod Family Foundation Establishes KHSU’s First Endowed Scholarship
Coonrod family legacy expands access to osteopathic medical education in Kansas. Kansas Health Science University proudly announces the establishment of the Carl M. and Ruth L. Coonrod Endowed Scholarship Fund—a gift that will empower generations of students to pursue their medical education at KHSU’s Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM). This is the first endowed scholarship fund for the Read more >
Rural Residency in Kansas: How Training Will Expand Family Medicine in Underserved Communities
A new rural family medicine residency will prepare KansasCOM students to serve rural communities. Across Kansas, rural communities face widening gaps in health care access, with physician shortages leaving many residents without consistent primary care. A new Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant awarded to Kansas Health Science University will help launch a rural family medicine residency program Read more >
Kansas Health Science University Awarded $750K Grant to Expand Health Care Access in Underserved Kansas Communities
New KansasCOM program will expand rural physician training to address Kansas doctor shortages. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) $750,000 in funding through the competitive Rural Residency Planning and Development Program. This prestigious federal award will support KHSU and its Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) in establishing a new residency Read more >
Small City, Big Impact: How Wichita Is a Living Classroom for Future Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine
Known for its deep community roots, Wichita is becoming a national model for community-integrated medical education. At the center of that transformation is Kansas Health Science University’s Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM). University’s Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM). At KansasCOM, medical education isn’t confined to campus. It lives in every exam room and every community partnership. Here, Read more >
How To Become a Surgeon With a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree
At Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, our DO program is designed to prepare students for professional clinical practice in various specialties, including surgery. BY KANSAS HEALTH SCIENCE UNIVERSITY Pursuing a career as a surgeon is a common career path for those studying osteopathic medicine, with 7% of active residents in this specialty. The path to becoming a surgeon is Read more >
KansasCOM Investigates Toxic Threat Hidden in Structure Fire Smoke
Ray Hensley, deputy chief of operations for Sedgwick County Fire District 1, doesn’t mince words about the risks firefighters face when responding to structure fires. He stated that nearly 100 healthy firefighters die in the U.S. each year, most from heart attacks or strokes. In a collaboration between Kansas Health Science University’s Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) and Read more >
How DOs Approach Women’s Health
Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine uses an innovative osteopathic curriculum to provide graduates with clinical experience, evidence-based research, and collaborative, interactive, and case-based learning. This prepares students for a medical career, practicing a whole-person osteopathic approach. A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) can pursue any medical career and specialty with the proper credentials; this includes providing optimal health to Read more >
KHSU Launches Plans for New Biomedical Science Lab
In its first major capital construction project since opening its doors to students in 2022, Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) is working toward the development of a biomedical science laboratory that will enhance institutional research capabilities. The university is currently seeking bids for shell construction of the $2.3 million project, which is planned for the third floor of the Read more >
5 Reasons Why Plastinated Specimens Are an Excellent Alternative to Dissection
Plastinates are a game changer in KansasCOM’s anatomy lab. By Ian Morris SUMMARY: KansasCOM’s multimodal approach to anatomy education includes using plastinated specimens. Plastinated specimens offer many benefits that make them easier than dissection to use, including that they don’t require special storage, they are easy to handle, and they last for many years. The students at KansasCOM Read more >
KHSU Plastination Library Brings Anatomy to Life With Silent Teachers
With the new plastination collection at KHSU, medical students can encounter isolated organs and regions of the body. Mastery of human anatomy is the cornerstone of reliable clinical diagnosis. With the arrival of plastinated human specimens to its anatomy lab, the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) is giving its students an edge: an opportunity to see anatomy as Read more >
Kansas Scholarship Reduces Medical Debt and Grows Rural Physician Workforce
For Alana Longwell, DO, moving to Emporia, Kansas, to begin her practice back in 2011 was more than a career move; it was the fulfillment of a promise she made when she accepted the Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship. By accepting this service scholarship created through support of the Kansas Legislature and administered by the Kansas Board of Regents, Read more >
KansasCOM Clinical Rotations Strengthen Pipeline for Kansas Doctors
Third-year medical students at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) hone their adaptability skills as their learning takes them on nine different clinical rotations over the course of the year, offering them opportunities to apply years of classroom study in real hospitals and clinics alongside experienced physicians in core areas of medicine. KansasCOM partners with more than 350 preceptors, Read more >