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ICOM update: college reports steady growth, residency placement and plans to expand class size
Summary
Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine staff and students briefed the committee on enrollment, accreditation status, residency placements and partnerships with Idaho State University; college seeks to grow class size and pursue institutional accreditation.
Representatives of the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) provided the House Health and Welfare Committee with an update on the college’s progress, enrollment and partnerships.
ICOM leadership said the private medical college opened in 2018 and has matriculated 1,134 student doctors and graduated 439, including 230 Idahoans. The college reported placing “well over 99 percent” of graduates into ACGME‑accredited residency programs in Idaho and elsewhere, and said students have performed above national averages on board exams.
ICOM representatives said the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) granted full accreditation to the college and authorized an increase in class size; ICOM plans to grow incoming class sizes from 150 to as many as 220 students per class starting in the summer term. The college is also pursuing institutional accreditation through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) to enable additional complementary programs.
ICOM described a close public‑private partnership with Idaho State University (ISU), including shared facilities on the ISU Health Sciences campus in Meridian, interprofessional education opportunities and dual faculty appointments to facilitate joint research and degree programs.
Committee members asked about clinical rotations, preceptorships and strategies to grow the physician workforce in Idaho. ICOM representatives said the college provides modest stipends to physician preceptors and encouraged physicians to volunteer as clinical preceptors; they also described the Mountain State Institute for Graduate Medical Education, a program to help Idaho hospitals and physicians establish residencies.
The briefing emphasized Idaho’s physician shortage — ICOM cited national comparisons and the need to add physicians to reach national per‑capita averages — and characterized the college as a growing pipeline for Idaho practice. No committee action or vote was taken on ICOM’s update; it was presented as informational.
