SALISBURY, N.C. A Novant Health Inc. hospital in Salisbury will serve as a training facility for osteopathic medical students at Campbell University, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

Campbells partnership with Rowan Medical Center, announced last week, will include training in primary care, family medicine, general surgery, obstetrician/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and other services. The emphasis is meeting the needs of underserved communities.

The medical school launched its first class of 162 medical students in August 2013. The rotation program at Rowan is scheduled to begin in June with 22 third-year students. It is projected to expand to 44 third- and fourth-year students.

Rowan physicians participating in the program will become faculty of Campbells medical school.

This relationship will be beneficial for our medical center and community in a number of ways, from enhancing our ability to recruit future doctors to boosting the local economy, Dr. Dari Caldwell, president of Rowan Medical, said in a statement.

Mike Horn, a consultant speaking for Novant, said Campbell approached Novant and Rowan to gauge their interest in accepting its medical students. The university is committed to placing its students in a rural hospital.

Horn said Dr. John Kauffman, dean of the medical school, and its board chose to establish relationships with community hospitals for its students rather than take on the expense of creating and maintaining the states fifth academic medical center.

Campbell University is proud to partner with Rowan to train the next generation of primary care and general specialists for North Carolina, Kauffman said in a statement.

The Rowan hospital already has a pharmacist training agreement with Campbell, along with Forsyth and Kernersville medical centers.

Campbell said one of its missions is addressing the increasing shortage of physicians in rural communities.

View original post here:

Novant Health Inc. hospital in Salisbury will serve as training facility