Oceania University of Medicine (OUM) is a public-private, for-profit medical school located in the South Pacific in Oceania. The medical school was founded in 2002 and is located on the island nation of Samoa. OUM was created by philanthropist Taffy Gould, a handful of Australian doctors, and several others to fill a void, a shortage of medical personnel in the South Pacific area. Due to Samoa's and the surrounding islands' remote location, an online curriculum with local physician mentors evolved. It became clear that aspiring phsycians in other areas around the world were experiencing similar barriers in pursuing a medical degree due to geographical isolation and/or personal commitments. Soon OUM began receiving applications from all over the world. The OUM curriculum is divided into two