NYITCOM-Arkansas Announces Partnership With SOFtoSOM

The College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM-Arkansas) has formed an official partnership with SOFtoSOM, an organization that helps military veterans who are interested in pursuing medical education.

SOFtoSOM stands for Special Operations Forces to School of Medicine. Founded in 2023, SOFtoSOM is the first nonprofit dedicated to helping special operators pursue medicine, empowering them to transition from the battlefield to healthcare. The organization provides mentorship, guidance, and support to military veterans who aspire to attend medical school.

NYITCOM-Arkansas’ partnership with SOFtoSOM ensures that applications from SOF scholars are reviewed by individuals familiar with special operations medicine or veterans themselves. This tailored review process allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the applicants’ unique experiences and contributions.

As part of the partnership, NYITCOM will invite SOFtoSOM to student recruitment events to increase veterans’ opportunities to connect with medical schools. SOFtoSOM scholars who have completed the organization’s preparatory program and meet certain academic criteria will be offered interviews at NYITCOM.

“NYITCOM has a strong appreciation for our military, and our medical school has a long history of supporting our armed forces,” says Shane Speight, D.O., site dean of NYITCOM-Arkansas and a former U.S. Army National Guard soldier. “Our partnership with SOFtoSOM gives us a pipeline to veterans who are outstanding medical school candidates, and it allows us to support a group of virtuous individuals who deserve our utmost respect and assistance as they transition to their next career phase.”

NYITCOM-Arkansas is one of 15 medical schools that have partnered with SOFtoSOM.

SOFtoSOM is led by Chief Executive Officer Zachary LeBlanc, a former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, who is now a medical student in West Virginia. After his own experience navigating the medical school application process as a nontraditional candidate, LeBlanc saw an opportunity to assist those who were interested in following a similar path, which led him to join four other veterans to found SOFtoSOM.

“Veterans are often very different from ‘traditional’ medical school applicants,” LeBlanc says. “Instead of gaining experience in hospitals, clinics, and research labs, our résumés consist of deployments, international medical experiences, and years of service in the workforce. Our organization connects with medical schools who understand the value in those experiences and want access to recruit those types of future physicians to their institutions. We’re proud to add NYITCOM-Arkansas to the group of schools that are committed to helping create that path.”

In addition to Speights’ military background, NYITCOM-Arkansas Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Amanda Deel, D.O., is a U.S. Navy veteran. NYITCOM-Arkansas has a number of alumni and current students who are military veterans.

“Students with military backgrounds certainly have unique perspectives in regard to leadership and service, and we hold those traits in very high regard,” Deel says. “We’re thrilled to work with SOFtoSOM to connect with these veterans and hopefully bring many of them to our medical school.”

By Casey Pearce