Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine-Mercy Program

Program Identity & Fit

Arkansas COM/Mercy is a faith-based, community-focused internal medicine program based at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, a teaching hospital within the broader Mercy health system serving Arkansas and neighboring states. The clinical model emphasizes progressive autonomy, hospitalist-led bedside teaching, critical care exposure in every training year, and a distinctive Geriatrics rotation spanning hospice, palliative care, nursing home rounds, and inpatient rehab. Research is present but limited to protected scholarly time in PGY-2/PGY-3 rather than a driving institutional priority, and the curriculum's structure (broad subspecialty exposure, MKSAP-based board prep, continuity clinic each week) signals a focus on producing well-rounded general internists rather than subspecialty-bound researchers. As an osteopathic-affiliated community program grounded in the Mercy Health Ministry mission, it appears to value residents drawn to whole-person, mission-driven care of an underserved regional population over those chasing high-volume academic subspecialty training.