Medical school in Cherokee Nation gives students experience serving Native communities

Geoff Bennett:

A first-of-its-kind medical school located in the Cherokee Nation recently graduated its inaugural class.

Our Oklahoma communities correspondent, Adam Kemp, shares how the program was started and why the need for these doctors is so great.

Adam Kemp:

A ceremony celebrating a historic first. In the days leading up to graduation, representatives from five different Native American tribes in Oklahoma honored its newest generation of doctors.

Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation Principal Chief:

It matters to you whether we've got graduates like the ones we are celebrating today. And if you're Native American or if you're a tribal leader, if you're a tribal citizen, it's of particular importance to you.

Adam Kemp:

The students are part of Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, the first ever physician training program on a Native American reservation.

The curriculum offers students firsthand experience serving Native communities and understanding their specific health care needs.

Caitlin Cosby, Graduate, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine: Once I actually got to see and work with patients, from my tribe, I really just fell in love with it. These last few years, being at a Native medical school, the first in the country, it's been amazing.

Adam Kemp:

Graduate Caitlin Cosby is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation. She is among the one-fifth of Native American students that make up the inaugural class.

Caitlin Cosby:

The Cherokee Nation campus was a really big deal for me. I have always wanted to be able to serve my people ever since I was able to actually live in the area where a lot of the culture is.

Adam Kemp:

For Mackenzee Thompson, another graduate and member of the Choctaw Nation, the program not only provided a medical education, but also brought her closer to her own heritage.

Mackenzee Thompson, Graduate, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine: And I wasn't really raised traditionally Choctaw . Some of those, like, traditions were kind of lost in my family lineage.

And, so coming here, I have been able to connect with other Choctaw students and learn, about our heritage, but then also just learn so much about the Cherokee Nation and their culture.

Adam Kemp:

OSU partnered with the Cherokee Nation to open the school in 2020 to help erase the shortage of indigenous doctors nationwide, who, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, make up only 0.3 percent of physicians.

Caitlin Cosby:

People want to see someone that looks like them and is from their culture. And, to me, that's really important for representation.

Adam Kemp:

Students also specialize in treating rural communities, which, like Native ones, face higher-than-average provider shortages and worse overall health outcomes.

As future doctors of osteopathic medicine, OSU graduates receive similar training as traditional medical doctors, but with a focus on holistic health and prevention.

Mackenzee Thompson:

Just having that holistic kind of mind-set when we approach medicine is something that I feel like pairs really well with the Native American philosophies of medicine.

Adam Kemp:

Next up for graduates is residency. Thompson herself will continue serving the indigenous community in the Cherokee Nation's capital of Tahlequah.

Mackenzee Thompson:

It just makes me super excited to go to a tribal residency and just get to continue to learn more about my Native culture and how to take care of my people best and — yes, and give back for the rest of my career.

Caitlin Cosby:

I hope that my journey will be able to inspire other young Native kids to be able to do this, because I think its important to see someone do it, because you know you can do it. And I would love to see more.

And I'm really proud to be Choctaw and I'm really proud to be from the OSU Cherokee Nation campus.

Adam Kemp:

These graduates are the first in what OSU hopes to be a new wave of doctors closing health care gaps for Native communities.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I am Adam Kemp.