Summer programs prepare aspiring physicians for success at the Heritage College

For many aspiring physicians, the journey to medical school can feel daunting. The coursework is rigorous, the competition is intense and, for some students, barriers related to geography, economics or educational opportunity can make the path even more challenging.

At the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, two longstanding summer programs are helping students navigate that journey while advancing the college's mission to improve health care access in underserved communities.

The Summer Scholars Program and the Pre-Matriculation Program offer immersive experiences that introduce students to the realities of medical school and help students build the skills and confidence they need to succeed. 

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A Legacy of Access and Opportunity

The Summer Scholars Program has been opening doors for future physicians since 1982, when it was established through federal Title VII funding. For more than four decades, the program has helped students from medically underserved communities, health professional shortage areas and educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds gain exposure to medical education and osteopathic medicine.

Each year, 24 participants are selected for the intensive four-week experience, which gives them a feel for the pace, rigor and content of the first-year  of the Heritage College’s innovative Pathways to Health and Wellness curriculum.

"The whole purpose was to provide access and opportunity for underserved and underrepresented students," said Jill Harman, senior director of admissions and recruitment, adding that students could be the first in their family to go to college, or from a health professions shortage area or from a background that has historically faced barriers getting into a health or medical career. “We give them a chance to come in, learn what medicine is like and what it's like to be a student here at OU-HCOM."

In Summer Scholars, participants experience the same flipped-classroom model used by Heritage College students, working through clinical cases in small groups while studying anatomy, histology, pharmacology, biochemistry, osteopathic manipulative medicine and clinical skills. They even complete assessments similar to those given in medical school.

“It’s a lot of work at first, it can be intimidating but once you get the gist of everything, figure out your priorities, it can basically show you how you would be in med school,” said Summer Scholar Andrew Owusu.

He said he enjoyed the program’s hands-on learning opportunities, including anatomy labs and clinical skills training, but found the program's collaborative environment particularly meaningful.

"The one thing that I can really appreciate here is the teamwork environment," Owusu said. "We all have different strengths and weaknesses. That’s the one thing that I was a little bit nervous about coming in, like how med school would be with all the different personalities, but here everybody is looking out for each other."

For Summer Scholar Osahon Ogbebor, a 2025 Ohio University graduate, who has always wanted to attend medical school, the program helped with his time management skills and strengthened his confidence.

"This has really spoken to me that I deserve to be here," Ogbebor said. "I know I can be here. I can handle medical school. I can handle the content. I can handle the pressure. I'm supposed to be here going to medical school."

As Harman sees it, that confidence is one of the program's greatest successes.

“The whole point of this program is for the individual to grow as a person and to better understand their why for coming into medicine,” said Harman. “Even if academically a Summer Scholar stumbles, they walk out of here knowing that yes, I really am meant to do medicine, now I know what to do to actually get there. That’s still a success.”

Another benefit of the Summer Scholars program is that if participants meet eligibility requirements, the scholars are guaranteed an interview with the Heritage College.

“How they perform academically during Summer Scholars can feed into an interview decision,” said Harman. “We also look at the program as a four-week interview for the students because we get to see how they interact with others.”

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Getting a Head Start

While Summer Scholars introduces students to medical school, the Pre-Matriculation Program is designed specifically for incoming Heritage College students.

Held on the Athens campus, the invitation-only program provides an accelerated introduction to the Pathways to Health and Wellness curriculum before classes begin in the fall. Students participate in case-based learning, anatomy labs, osteopathic manipulative medicine instruction and clinical skills workshops while developing study strategies and routines that will support their transition into medical school.

For Skyler Keirns of Springfield, Ohio, the opportunity to experience the curriculum before classes start made the decision to participate an easy one.

"I think my takeaway is that it's actually really well rounded," Keirns said. "I love how hands-on it is…especially with our medical morphology lab and osteopathic manipulative medicine. Even the lectures are very hands-on as well. I really enjoy that."

The program also helped her appreciate the supportive culture she found at the Heritage College.

"The good part is seeing the faculty—that they really do care," she said.

For Yatra Patel, who hopes to pursue family medicine, the program has been equally valuable.

"Seeing that you get to test out that flipped classroom model and learning curriculum was something I was very interested in," Patel said. "The overall environment has been super helpful.”

She believes one of the program's most important lessons extends beyond academics.

"I think the biggest takeaway is how you treat your colleagues or classmates is a really good indicator of how you're going to treat your patients," Patel said. "This group of people I've met are so amazing and knowing this is what I'm going to be surrounded with is uplifting. I know med school can get really competitive sometimes among some schools but that’s just not the energy I sensed here "