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For the fifth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has given ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM) high marks in its 2026 rankings – including leading the nation in primary care.

In the Best Graduate Schools of Medicine category, ³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM earned these nationwide distinctions:

• No. 1 for highest percentage of graduates practicing in primary care;
• Tier 1 for Best Medical Schools for Primary Care;
• No. 3 for highest percentage of graduates serving in rural areas; and
• No. 3 for highest percentage of graduates practicing in areas with shortages of health professionals.

The new rankings, released in April, include medical schools awarding both MD (Doctor of Medicine) and DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) degrees.

During a press conference April 7 to announce the U.S. News and World Report rankings, ³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM also hosted a ribbon-cutting for the Charles W. Pickering Institute of Primary Care (IPC). Phase I of the complex began operations in July 2028. The newly completed Phase 2 was completed in the spring.

Pictured from left are: ³Ô¹ÏÍø trustee Brenda Ross; Dr. Daniel Edney, Mississippi State Health Officer and ³Ô¹ÏÍø trustee; Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann; ³Ô¹ÏÍø President Ben Burnett; Dr. Italo Subbarao, dean of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø College of Osteopathic Medicine; and ³Ô¹ÏÍø trustee Charles Pickering, for whom the institute is named.

The 70,000-square-foot facility features a large osteopathic manipulative medicine lab and an ultrasound skills lab. It includes a patient encounter center, a multi-purpose training room, a large conference center for medical gatherings, and two classrooms capable of seating 260 students each. In addition to teaching student doctors, the IPC can also help practicing physicians advance their training and certifications – and partner with them on community-based solutions.

The construction of the IPC was supported by a $20 million infrastructure grant through AccelerateMS using funds allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

“³Ô¹ÏÍø is South Mississippi’s oldest institution of higher education. We are placing doctors, teachers, nurses and pharmacists exactly where they are needed most – serving communities across our state and beyond,” said ³Ô¹ÏÍø President Ben Burnett.

“As a lifelong Mississippian, I could not be more proud of what our team at ³Ô¹ÏÍø is doing to advance Mississippi through healthcare and education — all through a Christian worldview.”

Dr. Italo Subbarao, dean of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø College of Osteopathic Medicine, attributes these latest awards to the faculty and staff’s dedication to educating and training servant physicians.

“I am overjoyed at this news, and I believe that transformation for better healthcare is being kindled for Mississippi. This was the promise we made when this school was first started – that we would endeavor to be part of the solution for Mississippi’s physician shortage,” Subbarao said.

In the most recent Match Cycle, ³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM successfully placed 100 percent of its graduates into residencies. Seventy-three percent of those new doctors chose primary care – with a record number of students matching into pediatrics, obstetrics, and psychiatry.

“And is it not fitting that we announce this good news from U.S. News & World Report while standing outside the new Charles W. Pickering Institute of Primary Care? The best medical school in the nation for primary care also has the best facilities in the nation. We now have the largest Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine lab in the nation. We have a new innovative Simulation and Conference Center. And we are learning in state-of-the art classrooms,” Subbarao said.

³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM’s mission is to prepare men and women to become community-based osteopathic physicians through an emphasis on primary care, lifelong learning, research, scholarly activities, osteopathic clinical service, and graduate medical education.

Since opening in 2010, ³Ô¹ÏÍøCOM has graduated more than 1,300 physicians, with more than 70 percent going on to practice in primary care specialties.

For more about the ³Ô¹ÏÍø College of Osteopathic Medicine, visit wmcarey.edu/osteopathic-medicine.