Independent of growing faculty concerns and unrest, the class of 2002 began to make the administration aware of serious shortcomings in their education at KCOM. Among the complaints the most notable included: an OTM instructor slapping a student, secretaries being utilized to assess a physical exam skill practical, and instances of OMT instructors offering medical information so inaccurate and preposterous that even sophomore osteopathic students knew differently. The Student Government Association (SGA) compiled an elaborate, well-designed survey of the OTM department. The results were very embarrassing to the college as a majority of the class showed utter disdain for OMT and various instructors in the department.
The administration tried to keep up appearances and assembled a “task-force” to “address” the survey. Dr. Jeffrey Morasco, a pathologist, served on the “task-force” and was so disgusted with the attempt to ignore and cover-up the student concerns, he distributed a memo to the faculty detailing the process as a whitewash. Since then, he has not been re-hired by the college.
By this time, a majority of the class of 2002 had lost all confidence in the administration to address their concerns or pay any attention to the low quality of a significant part of their education. Over 30 students inquired about transferring to another D.O. school. One student left school, in part, due to this turn of events. Many students who wished to transfer were precluded from doing so due to the recent curricular changes. The new curriculum had changed the anatomy course to a peculiarly long format that ran into the sophomore year and was not recognized by other colleges of osteopathic medicine.
