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 FORT WORTH – Middle school and high school students from all across Tarrant County, and even as far as West Texas, came together to get invaluable training and early exposure to medicine on TCU’s campus in early September. 

This gathering of young minds is all part of a bigger plan by Ric Bonnell, M.D., Assistant Professor and Director of Service Learning at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, to get children to consider careers in medicine. 

“Many kids don’t get exposed to health care or careers in medicine until it’s almost too late,” Dr. Bonnell said.  

Dr. Bonnell created a unique service learning and community engagement event called, “Burnett at the BLUU” where young students get a transformative experience alongside medical students and faculty at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. The goal of the initiative is to establish stronger connections between the Burnett School of Medicine and the Fort Worth community. 

About 200 students from Fort Worth ISD, Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep and Tolar ISD got hands-on experience using the cutting-edge technology, such as  high-fidelity manikins, that medical students utilize as part of their training.

Aleyah Akuma, a 10th-grade student at Trimble Technical High School in Fort Worth, learned how to suture wounds and explored the human body using virtual reality with the Microsoft® HoloLens and HoloAnantomy. 

“It really opened my eyes to other parts of health care,” Akuma said. “It’s good for people who are just starting.” 

Dr. Bonnell said the payoff of this type of service-learning and community engagement is two-fold: Young students get exposed to careers in health care, and it also reinforces part of the mission of the medical school, which is to create Empathetic Scholars® who are life-long learners. Several medical students led simulation exercises at each station with the young students. 

“Once they start in medical school, they have the responsibility to help the next generation in high school and college be inspired to go into medicine and also to teach them how to provide health care,” Dr. Bonnell said. 

Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions and influences of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture and achievements in the United States. Throughout the month, which began on September 15 and runs through October 15, the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University will highlight some of its students, faculty and staff  who will share what being Hispanic means to them.

NICO MARTINEZ, MS-1

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Heritage: Puerto Rican and Colombian

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?

It means remembering where you came from and how far you’ve come, Martinez said. When he was growing up, “it was easy for me to push away my Latin roots and try to conform or blend in with those surrounding me.” He said: “Now, I’m surrounded by a lot more Latinos and it is easier for me to connect because we have common ground.”

What’s your favorite family memory?

Martinez remembered going to Puerto Rican Day parades in Chicago with his family. He recalled dressing up in Puerto Rican clothes with his cousins to show off their pride in their heritage and he felt so comfortable in those surroundings. He said it was great “just being kids,”  eating good food and listening to music.

Who is your biggest inspiration in medicine?

“Why don’t I have more people that look like me in medicine?” Martinez asked aloud. “I hope that one day I can be that for someone else.”

FORT WORTH – Thirty medical students were selected for the 2023-24 Burnett Brand Ambassadors Program at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. 

The Brand Ambassadors will represent the Fort Worth medical school in media interviews as well as marketing and social media campaigns. They could also be asked to attend special events and functions and give reports or speeches about the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.

The 2023-24 Burnett Brand Ambassadors are:

Class of 2024: Toni Igbokidi, Serena Jivraj, Lauren Moore, Danielle Sader, Sam Sayed, Kyle Simon, Ilana Zago

Class of 2025: Isabella Amado, Kevin Chao, Alejandra Gutierrez, Lauren Holladay, Sofia Olson, Ethan Vieira, Lindsay Zumwalt

Class of 2026: Angela Abarquez, Parminder Deo, Cort Ewing, Simar Goyal, Lauren Hui, Kailie McGee, Jonah Schmitz, Winston Scambler

Class of 2027: Paywand Baghal, Raika Bourmand, Marisa Fat, Ashley Kenney, Nico Martinez, Thien An Nguyen, Whitney Stanton, Jeanine Williams

Students are selected through an application process in which a committee consisting of faculty, staff and current student brand ambassadors evaluates applicants. The program, which is voluntary, is run by the Office of  Strategy and Communications.

“The new cohort of Brand Ambassadors have unique and varied stories to tell about their journeys to become physicians,” said Maricar Estrella, Director of Digital Development and Content Strategy, who founded the award-winning program in 2019. “Through these stories, we hope to highlight our school’s novel approach to medical education.”

The program has grown to include media training from local journalists such as NBC 5 Today Anchor Deborah Ferguson, who gave tips on communicating effectively during a broadcast interview, and social media influencers such as J Mack Slaughter, Jr., M.D., an emergency medicine physician, who is scheduled to speak with the new cohort this Fall.

FORT WORTH – An 80^th birthday in April 2022 brought Fort Worth business icon Arnold Gachman, ’64, cards and gifts galore. One special gift, however, will forever tie the longtime TCU supporter and recipient of its 2022 Royal Purple Award to the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University.  Through the collective contributions of friends and industry colleagues, the Gachman Endowed Faculty Excellence Award was established in his honor.

The award will recognize an outstanding faculty member each year who has distinguished the Burnett School of Medicine through “innovative teaching and training, research, and/or superb patient care.” Director of Service Learning Ric Bonnell, M.D., was recently selected as the award’s inaugural recipient.

Dr. Bonnell’s medical career has been highlighted by numerous medical mission trips to Haiti and by work in free clinics and with organizations committed to meeting the health care needs of disenfranchised men, women, and children in North Texas.  He now teaches and mentors Burnett School of Medicine students as they fulfill community service opportunities that place them face-to-face with those who have limited options to receive care and caring.

“Ric has changed the lives of our Burnett scholars as he has healed so many patients and contributed to humanity in our community and around the world,” said Mr. Gachman.  He’s a perfect choice.”

Mr. Gachman and his wife, Harriette – who are also Burnett School of Medicine Founding Donors  – recently enjoyed lunch with Dr. Bonnell and were pleased to hear of the many ways that students are volunteering their time and talents in the community.

“I grew up in Fort Worth and the Gachman family are well-known as leaders not just in the business community but also for giving back and doing charitable things. So it really meant a lot to me for this award to come from that family because I know they’ve been committed to Fort Worth for a long time,” Bonnell said.  At the Burnett School of Medicine, “we really focus on faculty that specialize in teaching and in doing service and getting our students to be the Empathetic Scholars®️ that we want them to be. I’m honored to have received this award and to be at a medical school that values service as much as they do other parts of medicine.”

FORT WORTH – Women should support women, especially in medical professions.

That was the big takeaway from students participating in a Women in Orthopedics program at Texas Christian University on August 25.

“It is easy to be intimidated in a field where I’d be a minority as a woman,” said Lauren Holladay, a third-year medical student at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. “These awesome, encouraging women have gone through so much to achieve what they have in the field of orthopedic surgery. Interactions like this make me more excited to pursue this field.”

Burnett School of Medicine faculty member Pamela Sherman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Cook Children’s Medical Center, invited pre-health students and medical students to participate in the program to make connections with female orthopedic surgeons, engineers and support staff.

 “The only way for women to be aware and interested is by exposure, so this allows us to expose the students, support those that are interested, and make them see that it’s actually something you can do as a woman,” Dr. Sherman said.

Burnett medical students listened attentively to the speakers who told their unique stories on how they got into the medical field.

Sarah Mayes, Ph.D., co-founder of Alafair and creator of VersaWrap, told the students that there is not a certain way that a person’s path needs to look to pursue a career in medicine. She emphasized the importance of making connections with those around them: “Sometimes, these connections that you’re making today will mean something to you three years from now [or]10 years from now, and you never know where your path is going to lead you,” she said.

After her presentation, the medical students took her advice and got acquainted with the female engineers and surgeons in the room. Then, they transitioned into hands-on learning experiences.

Throughout the room, stations were set up with different activities. There was a suturing station, orthopedic surgery tools station and a 3D spinal printer.

Erica Olfson, MS1, who is intrigued by orthopedics, said her favorite station was suturing. “I had never done that before so that was really exciting, and it was great to have a resident walk me through that process.”

FORT WORTH – Medical students from the Anne Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University were able to observe and learn from physicians at Cook Children’s Medical Center during a rare medical surgery involving conjoined twins.

Burnett School of Medicine at TCU alumni Mei Mei Edwards, M.D. ‘23, and Meaghan Rousset, M.D. ‘23, saw the twins successfully separated after they had been joined at the abdomen during birth. The twins were omphalopagus, which means they were joined at the abdomen and shared one or more internal organs. The twins shared a liver in this case.

“This was definitely such a great experience to see such a novel surgery,” Dr. Edwards said.

In late January 2023, sisters JamieLynn and AmieLynn Finley, of Saginaw, Texas, who were 16 weeks old at the time, underwent surgery becoming the first conjoined twins to be separated at Cook Children’s. The incidence of conjoined twins is one per 50,000 to 200,000 births, according to National Institutes of Health.

Following the surgery, Rousset was able to work with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team at Cook Children’s as the twin girls began their road to recovery.

“We saw the babies in the morning, saw how they were progressing and talked about different things we needed to work on to make sure they moved forward,” Dr. Rousset said.

As MS-4s at Burnett School of Medicine, Dr. Edwards and Dr. Roussett, were able to watch the successful 11-hour procedure during the “Focus” stage (Phase 3) of our Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) curriculum. In their fourth year, medical students get to choose 28 weeks of electives of their choice to gain valuable clinical experience, explore career interests and prepare for the residency match process.

“At that point, they’ve selected which specialty they are most interested in,” said Jo Anna Leuck, M.D., Associate Dean of Educational Affairs at Burnett School of Medicine. “How lucky are we to be in this Fort Worth medical community, to be partners with Cook and for our students to really get to a part of just truly a miraculous team that made this happen.”

As you’re driving around Fort Worth, be on the look-out for two billboards featuring Burnett alum McKenna Chalman, M.D. ’23 as part of TCU’s 150th anniversary campaign. The billboards are located at I-20 westbound between Fort Worth and Arlington (map) and I-35W northbound toward downtown Fort Worth (map). McKenna will also be featured on banners along University Drive. This summer, McKenna was one of the health-care professionals highlighted in TCU’s mural project in Chicago. Read more about McKenna and the mural project here.

FORT WORTH – Simulation and technology at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University was on full display for members of the Yale Club of Fort Worth during a live interactive experience in early June. 

Members of the Simulation and Technology department at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and medical students guided attendees through live demos of Microsoft HoloLens® and HoloAnantomy, Laparoscopic Surgery Skills, High-Fidelity Manikin Simulation and Suturing. 

Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., Founding Dean of Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and former Yale School of Medicine Professor, addressed the attendees and explained the importance of technological advances in medical education training.  

“Most of us that are physicians learned how to do everything that our students are learning on patients and that was really hard,” Dean Flynn said. “The thing I love about where we’ve grown in medicine is this is a safe environment. Our students and our residents can do things that aren’t experimenting on patients and can do it over and over again to develop the muscle memory of what these procedures feel like.” 

Angela Morka, a sophomore at Yale University, had the opportunity to use the Laparoscopic Surgery Skills equipment that uses virtual reality and physical surgical tools. She is considering attending medical school in the future and was amazed by the technology. 

“I’ve heard of VR before but to see it in that way was very interesting and cool and progressive,” Morka said. “There’s no pain involved it’s very ethical and empathetic while still being technological.” 

Pat Carter, Yale alumna Class of 1971, had an immersive experience with HoloLens and HoloAnatomy. Seeing the intricacies and colorful detail of the lungs during her demo it left her wanting to learn more, she added. 

“It was very stimulating and I came away wanting more,” Carter said. “If I had been able to go to medical school this would’ve been a cool place to be.” 

Antonio Igbokidi, MS4, was elected as National Chairperson of the Student National Medical Association at the 2023 SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) in April.

SNMA is the nation’s oldest and largest independent, student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of students of color who are underrepresented in medicine. SNMA has more than 150 chapters across the nation with a membership of more than 7,000 medical students, pre-medical students, and physicians.

Igbokidi served previously as the SNMA’s National Treasurer.  He graduated from the University of Arkansas with degrees in Biology and African American Studies and holds a master’s degree in Bioethics from Creighton University.

At the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, Igbokidi started an initiative called the Barbershop Talk Therapy Project, designed to integrate mental health professionals into the barbershop in order to heal and de-stigmatize mental health in men of color. He is passionate about integrating community health in his role as a future physician to uplift the voiceless and marginalized.

In April, Igbokidi was awarded the 2023 Excellence in Public Health Award from the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee.  The awards program recognizes medical students who have done exceptional work in their local community promoting public health and disease prevention. 

Antonio’s career interests lie in the field of psychiatry, particularly community psychiatry, addiction, psychoanalytic therapy, and organized medicine. 

FORT WORTH – The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University was awarded more than $45 million in philanthropic support thanks to a challenge grant from the Amon G. Carter Foundation.

In December 2022, Fort Worth’s Amon G. Carter Foundation “challenged” the Burnett School of Medicine  to secure $30 million in new gifts and pledges by May 31, 2023, offering a $15 million additional grant if the challenge was achieved.

With the help of  Fort Worth and TCU communities, the challenge was met, resulting in more than $45 million in philanthropic support for the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.

The gifts will help expand the pool of student scholarships, bolster programs addressing student well-being, fund student research programs, and enhance the clinical training of  the school’s medical students. The Carter Challenge grant will also add support to core student programs and technology needs, underpinning the innovations that fuel the Burnett School’s growing national reputation.