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Recruitment PrioritiesThe Bluefield College Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences Program considers applicants whopossess the academic, professional, and individual promise to become exemplary osteopathicphysicians or scientists. Bluefield seeks to admit a portion of the class from applicants based inVirginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and the remaining Southern AppalachianRegion. The Southern Appalachian Region consists of rural and underserved areas of Alabama,Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Please refer tothe recruitment section of the Student Handbook catalog to learn about BC Student Recruitment.Although BC seeks students from these geographical areas, all applicants are considered andstudents are accepted from all areas throughout the United States who are committed to caring forunderserved populations.Admissions RequirementsAdmissions Process and Professional ExpectationsWithin its competitive framework, BC uses multiple criteria to select the most promisingcandidates from an applicant pool which exceeds the number of seats available. Since a rollingadmissions process is used, applications are reviewed and decisions are made at regular intervalsduring the admissions cycle. After the committee meets and a decision is made, students will benotified of their status via email.An applicant aspiring to become a future osteopathic physician is expected to show integrity andprofessionalism throughout the application process. The applicant’s professional interactions withthe Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences Program faculty and staff, with the VCOM osteopathicmedical program admissions staff, and each college of osteopathic medicine will be considered inthe acceptance process. The applicant’s interactions with the medical college faculty and staffduring the admissions process will be considered in the acceptance process as well. Applicantsmust familiarize themselves with the admissions requirements, procedures, deadlines, report andupdate any changes to the application, be accurate and complete in their application, and discloseall information requested.Minimum Requirements for Admission to the MABS ProgramThe requirements to succeed at BC are those required to successfully complete the curriculum and,if applicable to the student’s desire and ability to gain admission to the D.O. program, to ultimatelypractice osteopathic medicine with full practice rights. Students must be able to function in avariety of learning environments and clinical settings and quickly, accurately, and consistentlylearn and process data. Successful completion within the program is defined as satisfying allacademic requirements with an overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale, having a grade of “C” orhigher for each course, and meeting other requirements as noted in this Handbook. Many criteriaplay a role in the admissions process to professional schools and to be competitive, students musthave grades significantly higher than a “C.” While the Master of Arts in Biomedical SciencesProgram provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate academic capability, it does notassure admission to a professional school.Applicants for admission must meet the following requirements prior to entry into the Master ofArts in Biomedical Sciences Program:10Updated 1-31-2020

Admission to the MABS program is limited to candidates capable of performing on the graduatelevel. Applicants for admission must meet the following requirements prior to entry into the Masterof Arts in Biomedical Sciences program.- Earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.- The following undergraduate courses must be completed with a grade of C or better priorto matriculation:o Biological Sciences – One year with laboratoryo Physics – One yearo General or Inorganic Chemistry – One yearo Organic Chemistry – One yearo English – One yearLaboratories for Physics, General or Inorganic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry are stronglyencouraged for all applicants.- Minimum GPA required:o Overall GPA of 3.0o Science GPA of 3.0- While the MCAT is required to obtain admission to medical school, it is not required foradmission to the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences program; however, students whoenter the program having already obtained an MCAT score of 494-496 or higher have anadvantage in that they have already met the MCAT component of the benchmarksrequired for admission into the VCOM DO program and can therefore focus solely ontheir BC MABS coursework.- All students are required to meet the Bluefield College Technical Standards for Admissionand Continued Enrollment found in the MABS Student Handbook.- A completed application for admission submitted through the Post BaccalaureateCentralized Application Service (Post-BacCAS)- Two letters of recommendation – one from a premedical committee or science facultymember and one professional letter from a supervisor or shadowing mentor (preferredfrom an M.D. or D.O.) (submitted directly to the PostBacCAS).- Official, verified, transcripts from all universities and/or colleges attended (submitteddirectly to the PostBacCAS)Note: Many criteria beyond GPA play a role in the admissions process to this program, andacceptance into the program is competitive. While the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciencesprogram provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate improved academic capability, itdoes not assure admission to a professional school.Background Check RequirementsAll incoming students are required to submit (directly to PreCheck) an application for acriminal background check. No other service will be accepted. A monetary fee (payable toPreCheck) must accompany the PreCheck application which is to be submitted by the tuitiondeposit date. An offer of admission and continued enrollment is contingent upon acceptableresults from an accepted student’s Pre-Check report. Bluefield College/VCOM reserves the rightto put restrictions on or rescind an offer of admission based on information received on abackground check. Also note that should any charge or arrest occur after acceptance, whether ornot the accepted student was convicted, the student is required to inform BluefieldCollege/VCOM immediately when it occurs. Failure to report such charges or arrests, whetherguilty or not, and/or failure to report immediately, within 24 hours, can result in the student’s11Updated 1-31-2020

offer of admission being rescinded. Upon review of the charge, Bluefield College/VCOM reservesthe right to rescind the offer of admission prior to matriculation.Technical Standards for Admission and Continued Enrollment in theVCOM D.O. ProgramThe requirements to succeed at VCOM are those necessary to successfully complete the curriculum.Since many students will consider entering VCOM’s Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program oranother graduate level professional program, VCOM requires all Master of Arts in BiomedicalSciences program applicants and students to possess the same technical standards required of D.O.students.It is important that applicants and students review the Technical Standards for Admission andSuccessful Completion of the D.O. Program at VCOM prior to admission. The requirements tosucceed at VCOM are based upon those necessary to successfully complete the medical schoolcurriculum and to safely practice osteopathic medicine with full practice rights in the future.General Overview:1. Students must be able to function in a variety of learning and clinical settings and to quickly,accurately, and consistently learn and process data in order to succeed in the medical schoolcurriculum and to meet technical standards for safely practicing osteopathic medicine as aphysician. As the medical school program is a career path toward the practice of medicinein which students often accumulate great debt, all technical standards are considered inrelationship to culmination of a career to practice of osteopathic medicine. Students are alsosubject to external performance testing in national boards as a requirement for graduationand to practice osteopathic medicine.2. As osteopathic medicine believes a good physician must be a primary care generalist first(skills learned in undergraduate and the first year of residency before moving to specializedtraining later in residency); students must meet technical skills to perform as a primary careosteopathic physician in order to successfully complete the curriculum. Osteopathicprimary care physicians utilize a hands-on approach to the examination and treatment of apatient; therefore, the following technical skills are required:I. ObservationTouch: Osteopathic medicine requires a physician to exhibit the sense of touch for examination.The education of the osteopathic student; therefore, requires a student to be comfortable and havethe ability to touch a human being of both sexes as part of learning the osteopathic approach todiagnosis and treatment. As part of the educational process, VCOM students must learn to palpateor touch patients and understand the impact of human touch. The only reasonable approach inour physical diagnosis and OMM laboratories is then for a student to touch and to tolerate beingtouched. Therefore, students who wish to attend VCOM must agree in writing to touch others inorder to acquire the skills necessary for palpation and examination of peers (classmates) and to betouched by peers in these laboratories. In addition, students must learn the maneuvers ofmanipulative treatment while under supervision in the learning environment and fulfill the role ofboth patients and future physicians. Prior to matriculation students must sign a waiver wherebythey agree to touch other students in the process of examination and to be touched, and to12Updated 1-31-2020

participate in the student practice sessions for of osteopathic manipulative medicine skills.Acquiring the skills to palpate and examine patients requires examination of disrobed patients ofboth genders; therefore, examination of fellow students of both genders, who may be partiallydisrobed, is required. These are requirements for all students, regardless of cultural or religiousbeliefs, in order for the student to acquire the skills necessary to safely practice osteopathicmedicine. Students who have any concerns or questions should discuss them with the VicePresident for Student Services prior to applying.Vision: Osteopathic physicians utilize visual inspection to examine the position and balance ofthe musculoskeletal system; tissue texture changes; skin lesions and rash types; skin, nail, andmucus membrane color; eyes (including fundoscopic); ears, nose, throat; genitalia; and other areasin the process of diagnosis. Vision is also required to master fine skills such as suturing or using ascalpel, and surgical removal of foreign bodies or certain tissues, and other surgical procedures.Vision is required to interpret many diagnostic tests, including, but not limited to: x-ray, CT scan,MRI, and PET scan. The student must be able to visually observe changes in the human body,laboratory demonstrations, microscopic tissue with the aid of the microscope, and computer basedpictures used in laboratory demonstrations. The student must be able to visually and accuratelyobserve physical signs and symptoms of a patient used in diagnosis and management. The use ofa trained intermediary to perform such activities does not result in the same level of competencywhen mediated by another individual’s power of selection, observation, and experience, nor doesit assure that the secondary person’s perceptions are accur

health and related post-graduate programs. 2. To recruit and graduate students who will address -H disparities including those STEM related to rural locations, minority populations, poverty status, and primary care. 3. To advocate for osteopathic medicine, rural health, mission medicine and affordable,