Welcome to Family Medicine!

he Mission of the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine is to provide medical education and research that prepares globally minded, community-focused physicians and to improve the health of those most in need.

Family Medicine is the medical specialty which is concerned with the total health care of the individual and the family. It is the specialty in breadth that integrates the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences. The scope of family medicine is not limited by age, sex, organ system or disease entity. Family medicine is the all-encompassing holistic specialty.

Goals for the OMSIII:

Develop the ability to perform a patient-centered interview and treatment plan
Develop and use an integrated (biopsychosocial) approach to clinical reasoning
Continue to develop the responsibilities of being humanistic, professional, ethical, dutiful, compassionate, altruistic and knowledgeable
Improve self understanding in patient interactions
Experience Family Medicine in a realistic environment
Understand the continuity of care model of Family Medicine
Understand how a practice functions through interaction with office staff and paramedical personnel; develop and practice the team approach to medical care
Participate in patient education and disease prevention and the enhancement of overall health
Apply osteopathic philosophy and therapy to patient care
Apply knowledge of basic and clinical sciences to patient care
Analyze clinical data and consider patient and family preferences
Investigate and evaluate patient care practices, appraise and assimilate scientific evidence and improve patient care practices
Learn to provide optimal, cost effective care
Recognize the cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors that affect healthcare
Become an advocate for your patients