Simpson University in Redding, CA, is planning on opening a DO medical school.
The program is described as having a “Christian focus.”
The The proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine would be designed around a distributed clinical training model, anchored in Redding and extended across hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers throughout the North State.
Huh! I have been a fairly higher-ed-aware resident of California since 1988 (the year before Simpson moved from SF to Redding, Google informs me), and yet I was “today years old” the first time I heard of this college!
A “Christian focus”? Does that quietly translate into saying they may not teach all aspects of available healthcare if it goes against “Christian beliefs”?
No idea.
The University is an evangelical, Protestant institution that is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). The University’s students also represent a range of church backgrounds.
C&MA does not believe in evolution and teaches literal biblical creation, and eagerly awaits the second coming as described in the bible. It is pro-life and forbids assisted suicide.
Please note that there are already a number of evangelical/fundamentalist Christian schools which have med schools, including Liberty University, Loma Linda University, Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University, and Baylor University.
There are more than a half dozen Catholic medical schools and starting fall 2027, there will be a Church of the Latter Day Saints-sponsored med school at BYU.
Medical schools are required to teach a fairly standardized curriculum that includes evolution as fact and plenty of factual information and discussion about sex, reproduction and sexuality.
Simpson University is already home to a successful nursing program.
Not sure how a physician wannabe learns science they attend a college that doesn’t teach evolution as a scientific fact! Although based on wayoutwestmom’s above post, med schools must teach evolution as fact? How does this tension work in practice if the student body believes in creationism?
I do not believe that Baylor University has a medical school. Baylor College of Medicine in Houston split from the university circa 1970.
Yes, Baylor University and the med school got “divorced” in 1970 so that Baylor COM could received state funding.
But Baylor University has a BS/MD program where students go to undergrad at Baylor University and then matriculate into Baylor COM.
IIf individuals are worried about not learning the basic of evolution in undergrad, then Baylor should still be on the list.
The medical school is not part of the undergrad university. Whatever policies on scientific reasoning that undergrad institution has do not carry over to the med school.
Note that Simpson University does not have BA/MD so most (almost all?) of the future students won’t necessarily have attended a undergrad that doesn’t teach evolution.
As I mentioned there are other med school associated with evangelical/fundamenalist religious schools that do not teach evolution. (See Liberty University in Virginia. Or Loma Linda University in California)
From what I’ve read the Liberty U med students have mentioned the anti-science bias of the undergrad but for the most part they ignore it and accept evolution and all other parts of the scientific method.
Baylor University biology is not anti-evolution, so that is not concern for premeds there:
https://biology.artsandsciences.baylor.edu/about-us/statement-evolution