FAIRMONT – Getting into medical school is making for more POMP and a lot less circumstance for Emma Christie and Olivia Lowther.
The two Fairmont State students are bound for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, by way of a portal to the med school’s Pre-Osteopathic Medicine Program – or, POMP as it is known.
Fairmont State and the osteopathic school linked up in 2023 for the program, which offers a direct line to admission, so long as students meet all the academic requirements.
Both students said they appreciated the partnership and the streamlined process for admission.
Christie, who has dual majors in biology and psychology, initially wasn’t thinking about medicine as a career.
Encouraging professors, plus the partnership, changed her mind, the Berkeley Springs native said.
Knocking out all the logistics, she said, gave her both a good prescription, and a good prognosis, when it came time to try to get in.
“The process of applying to medical school is really tedious,” she said.
Fairmont State’s fast-tracking gave her the nudge she needed.
“It really just helped me focus on my classes and education,” she said, “rather than a bunch of other items to get accepted.”
Lowther, like her classmate, appreciated being able to avoid a lot of the hoops and hurdles when it came time to seriously pursue medical school.
She grew up right down the road in Clarksburg and will carry her exercise science studies at Fairmont State to a career in medicine.
For her, the Locust Avenue school has been both a foundation and a springboard for a career path.
“All my science professors have helped set me up so that I am ready for medical school,” Lowther said.
“Any time there’s a program like this, people should be on the lookout and apply,” she continued. “They open the door to medical school and also empower students with confidence and support.”
Osteopathic medicine takes a whole-body approach to the treatment of maladies and injuries.
Graduates and practitioners carry the D.O. stitching on their lab coats, opposed to the M.D. designation for traditional med school grads.
