Vice President of Academic Affairs & Dean, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
By Brittany McClung
For more than 30 years, Craig Boisvert, D.O., has played a prominent role in West Virginia’s health care industry, providing medical, clinical and educational services. Today, he serves as the vice president of academic affairs and dean at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM).
A native of Vermont, Boisvert received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Vermont and his doctorate in osteopathic medicine from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then completed a 12-month rotating internship, as well as a family medicine residency at the Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital in Pennsylvania. In 2007, Boisvert completed a health policy fellowship through the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in conjunction with Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the New York Institute of Technology.
Following his residency, Boisvert practiced in a small town in Arkansas for four years, which was part of a service obligation to the National Health Service Corps. There he was able to practice the same type of medicine he became familiar with growing up, which led to his realization that physicians are needed in rural America. Boisvert then made his way to the Mountain State, where he has lived and worked since 1988.
In his role as vice president of academic affairs and dean, Boisvert supervises and encourages faculty, oversees curriculum, counsels others and strives to keep everyone happy as the students move along their path to becoming physicians. In a role with such great responsibility and challenges, including accreditation changes, new laws and the high cost of medical education, Boisvert finds the rewards in each day.
“There is nothing more rewarding than watching a first-year osteopathic medical student go from their first physical diagnosis lab where they do not understand medical terminology, do not know how to use their diagnostic equipment and have no medical knowledge to then watching as they graduate four years later as a competent new physician,” says Boisvert.
Another thing he enjoys about his position is getting to be in the classroom or skills lab to work with the students.
“Being at WVSOM has given me the ability to practice medicine, teach, do research and try my hand in administration,” says Boisvert.
Throughout his career at WVSOM, he has developed four separate courses, two of which are still in use, and has been involved in developing the patient presentation curriculum, which focuses on the most common ways patients present to their physician. Boisvert has expanded the school’s Statewide Campus system of educational partners and supported the expansion of WVSOM’s interprofessional education program, which partners with health professional programs throughout the state. Along with the academic departments, he has participated in the school’s expanded community outreach, where several high school and college pipeline programs were developed to encourage students to enter health science fields.
Boisvert has been the recipient of several awards and accolades during his successful career in the health care industry, including the West Virginia Immunization
Network Immunization Advocate Award, President’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Clinical Science Faculty and Outstanding Employee of the Year. Boisvert was also inducted into the AOA Mentor Hall of Fame. However, what he finds most rewarding is seeing students become successful and providing care to those in need.
“Forty nine of the 55 counties in West Virginia have a WVSOM graduate practicing primary care, and more than half of the graduates practicing in the state are serving the rural areas where there is the most need,” he says.
As Boisvert makes plans to retire in the next year, he has no plans to leave West Virginia and expects to keep in contact with the school he has called home for the majority of his career.
“This is my home and has been for more than 30 years,” he says. “The state has provided a safe place for my wife and I to raise our family and an education for my children. I feel privileged that so many individuals choose me to handle their health care needs as their physician, and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to work with so many talented individuals, not only at our school but in the community and at the state level. It has been a pleasure caring for the citizens of West Virginia and an honor to have been allowed to participate in the education of so many outstanding physicians.”
