215: Dr Sealey Founding Dean of the Proposed Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine at Morgan State University

I sat down with Dr Sealey the Founding Dean of the Proposed Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine at Morgan State. In this interview we spoke about his background, where he grew up and what made him get into the medical profession and become a Doctor. He walks us through his life and how ended up at Morgan State University. We discuss what he has in store for the the proposed Medical School.

Dr. John Sealey is a renowned innovator in clinical medical education and served as the leading fundraiser and founding DIO of Detroit’s Authority Health graduate medical education residency program, a $25 million in-community resident training initiative that was the largest teaching health center program in the country. He continues to support the program as DIO/DME Emeritus and as a consulting Medical Director.

Dr. Sealey has long been a passionate advocate of increasing diversity in medical education and has enjoyed developing pipeline programs targeting the underserved and underrepresented. He is a graduate of an HCBU, North Carolina Central University (1971) and received his medical education at Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine (1976). He completed his resident training at Botsford General Hospital (now Beaumont) and the Detroit Osteopathic Hospital in 1984, specializing in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, and has served underprivileged patients in the Detroit community for the entirety of his surgical career. In 2015, he completed an American Osteopathic Association Health Policy Fellowship at Ohio’s University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

A longstanding advocate for the osteopathic profession and a dedicated clinical instructor, Dr. Sealey has spent over thirty years in medical education and fifteen years in leadership. Since 2008, he has served as the Director of Student Medical Education for Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (Regional Dean for the Detroit Region). From 2011 onward, he held a similar role at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, including responsibility for the coordination and initiation of student clinical rotations at the Detroit Medical Center. He later provided development and upstart advisory for the Minnesota College of OsteopathicMedicine as the Associate Dean of Medical Affairs and currently serves as the Associate Dean ofClinical Medicine at Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine where he leads the oversight of clinical departments, graduate medical education, and third and fourth-year student clinical rotations.

Nationally, Dr. Sealey is a member of the American Osteopathic Association’s Council on Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education, having completed his term as Chairman in 2020, and was recently appointed as the Co-Chairman of COCA’s Committee on Diversity. He served on the HRSA Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry and continues to serve the State of Michigan as a member of the Acupuncture Board, a position appointed by the Governor.

Dr. Sealey has spearheaded numerous medical research projects as clinical advisor and has presented as a frequent speaker to numerous national committees and organizations, including the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators, the Heartland Health Equity Conference, the ACGME Annual Educational Conference, the ACGME Accreditation & Medically Underserved Areas Work Group, and the AHME Institute. His scholarship has been published by, inter alia, the Journal of American Osteopathic Association,