Igbokidi, MS-3 at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, wanted to create a safe space for men of color to discuss mental health. His passion project has now gained national attention.
The awards program recognizes medical students who have done exceptional work in their local communitypromoting public health and disease prevention.
Ikwo Oboho, M.D., ScM, director of infection prevention and control program at U.S. Veteran Affairs North Texas Health Care System, surprised Igbokidi with the award at the Burnett Schoool of Medicine.
“We were very impressed by the impact of it in the community and felt it was deserving of the public health award,” Dr. Oboho said. “Sometimes, medical learning can be very didactic. This kind of work gives them the vision before they complete residency and medical school. These are the needs of the community; it’s not just something you’re reading in a textbook.”
Igbokidi says the work he does is not to get awards or attention. “I do this work because I love being a part of the community, being immersed in the community, and doing the work with the community.”
FORT WORTH – For medical students across the nation, the weeks leading up to Match Day can be an anxious and stressful time.
As members of the inaugural class of the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, the soon-to-be graduating MD students had an additional weight on their shoulders, becoming the standard bearers for generations to come.
On Match Day, 100 percent of the graduating class of the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, known as Dorman Scholars, matched into medical residency programs throughout the United States. All students matched into recognized programs, including Mayo Clinic, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Penn State and Tufts, to name a few.
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) announces residency match results to all medical students in the United States at the same time on the third Friday in March. This year marked the largest Match in history with a record number of applicants who certified a rank order list, according to NRMP.
The following Burnett School of Medicine students not only matched, they also matched at their No. 1 ranked residency program. Here are their stories:
Briana Collins
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Program: Internal Medicine at Stanford Health Care
From left to right: Faye Collins, Briana Collins, James Collins II and James Collins at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU’s Match Day 2023 at Amon G. Carter Stadium at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas on Friday, March 17, 2023.
Initially, Briana Collins wasn’t sure she should apply to Stanford for an away rotation.
“I was my biggest enemy,” Collins said of the time she doubted herself. “What really hindered me in the beginning was that I didn’t want to apply for the Stanford away (rotation) because I didn’t think that I would qualify.”
She credits Burnett School of Medicine faculty members such as Rohan Jeyarajah, M.D., Chair of Surgery, and James Furgerson, M.D., for encouraging her to apply.
Not only did Briana get accepted and do well at the Stanford away rotation, but the experience also led to her getting her No. 1 residency program match in internal medicine at Stanford Health Care.
Her mother, Faye Collins, said Briana has always been a fighter. “She was born a preemie,” Faye said on Match Day. “She’s smart, perseveres, has patience and she’s a hard worker.”
Briana says the early exposure to patients during her Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) helped her stand out above other applicants.
“From Day 1, I was in the clinic. I was at Stop Six Clinic at JPS with Dr. Reena Matthews,” she said. “Every week, I was seeing patients, taking interviews and presenting to her, and really getting into the habit of putting things together and coming up with an assessment and plan.”
Her parents, James and Faye Collins, have inspired Briana throughout her medical journey. Her brother, James Collins II, threw the custom-made football that revealed Briana’s residency match.
When her Stanford match was revealed, her father jumped up and down with a poster-sized photo of Briana with the words: “I matched at Stanford.” Her brother took off his outer layer to unveil a Stanford sweatshirt.
Her family seemed certain that Briana would get her No. 1 choice even though Briana’s exuberance and surprised reaction suggested that she may have had her doubts.
At Stanford, Briana will be joining graduating medical students from Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins and University of Chicago, to name just a few.
Her advice to other medical students: “If you have a big dream, go for that. As long as you believe in yourself, you can do it. Take that leap of faith. Do something that scares you because you can do it.”
Edmundo Esparza
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Program: Internal Medicine at University of California San Diego Medical Center
Edmundo Esparza, MS-4, announces his match in internal medicine at UC San Diego.
For Edmundo Esparza, Match Day was the culmination of a long and challenging medical journey.
Before medical school began, his father passed away leaving his mother, Maria, to care for him and his seven older siblings alone. Edmundo worked multiple jobs to try to save up money for medical school and make the move from El Paso to Fort Worth.
Maria Esparza said Edmundo “has been very calm in his studies. He’s dedicated in making this his career and keeps moving forward.”
On Match Day, Edmundo’s mother and older brother, Henry Tocora, were at Amon G. Carter Stadium to witness him get his No. 1 residency choice in internal medicine at University of California San Diego Medical Center.
“I am excited to start my residency training because I’ve found my passion in life, which is internal medicine,” Edmundo said. “I love working with patients and underserved populations and I want to have that power as a full attending in the future to finally be able to do that. The only way to do that is through residency.”
The moment the family found out Edmundo’s match “was very emotional to me,” Maria said. “It’s very beautiful because he’s going to a place he wanted to go.”
Throughout medical school, Edmundo has led several community initiatives including registering residents for COVID-19 vaccinations in the mostly Hispanic communities of North Side and Diamond Hill. He was also a student leader at the TCU-Baylor Drive-Through Vaccination Clinic, where nearly 19,000 vaccines were administered to Tarrant County residents during a span of just 12 weeks.
Edmundo pioneered the Back-to-School Supplies Drive for underserved Fort Worth communities in which more than 4,500 school supplies were distributed. As a leader in the Latino Medical Student Association, he helped design a course in Spanish that was added to the curriculum as an official elective.
“It’s been a long journey to get to here,” Edmundo said on Match Day. “There’s moments when you think you want to give up, but it’s all worth it in the end.”
Jonas Kruse
Hometown: San Clemente, California
Program: Interventional Radiology at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center
Jonas Kruse and his wife, Anabel, celebrate his residency match at UCLA in interventional radiology.
Jonas Kruse was one of three students selected in the nation to be matched in the interventional radiology residency program at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
On Match Day, Jonas with his wife, Anabel, by his side had a two-word reaction to achieving his No. 1 choice: “Let’s go!”
Early on, Jonas stood out as a leader at the Burnett School of Medicine. He was selected by the senior leadership to be one of six students who participated in TCU Magazine’s four-year-long narrative project. He was also chosen by his peers to give the class remarks at the White Coat Celebration in 2019, and he’s been a Burnett Brand Ambassador throughout all four years of medical school.
Jonas said the medical school’s curriculum, specifically the patient communication training and four years of LIC, along with his away rotations helped him achieve his No. 1 match.
“I was on an away rotation and I was asked to hold the pager, which is something that is typically done by a resident,” Jonas said. “The next day, the attending physician came up and said, ‘I don’t think we’ve ever had a student just take the pager and handle it.’ They were impressed with that.”
Jonas said he also appreciated the medical school’s emphasis on patient communication: “Those initial awkward moments get ironed out a lot earlier than our third year when most medical students are in a clinical setting…there’s also a lot of challenging, sensitive conversations that we’ve had practice having.”
Jonas said his away rotations were the most exciting time of his medical school experience: “This is where all the preparation and the studying and the hours comes together.”
He participated in away programs at UCLA and at the Mount Sinai Hospital at Icahn School of Medicine. During his last month of away rotation in interventional radiology at UCLA, Jonas said he felt comfortable talking to attendings and working with the residents.
“By the time I walked in there, I had four months of interventional radiology and I’d been mentored by preceptors for three straight years when it came to medicine,” he said. “Then, I also put in my work with everybody. First in, last out. All that together really helped me thrive.”
Brandon Mallory
Hometown: Keller, Texas
Program: Emergency Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell
Brandon Mallory, MS4, pins his residency match at Burnett School of Medicine’s Match Day.
In 2019, Amanda Mallory stood beside her son Brandon as he put on his white coat for the first time. She tearily explained that Brandon wanted to be a doctor ever since he was in elementary school.
On Match Day, Brandon was the one in tears when he found out that he would be heading to New York City and his No. 1 choice of residency program.
Fittingly, Brandon’s mom was the one to deliver the news in the form of a football – he matched in emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell.
“My mom has been with me obviously my entire life – a lot of times it was just me and her. We’ve been through a lot together,” Brandon said fighting back tears. “There’s no person I would rather have here. She’s my No. 1 inspiration for everything.”
Brandon said that the Empathetic Scholar® curriculum attracted him to the medical school.
“Patients have told me multiple times: ‘You are the first doctor that really listened to me,’ ” he said. Being empathetic and compassionate “is so important and this school has taught me that.”
Brandon knew from the start of medical school that he wanted to specialize in emergency medicine thanks to his experience as a scribe for Terence McCarthy, M.D., the John M. Geesbreght M.D., M.S., FACEP, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Burnett School of Medicine.
Brandon wrote a letter of gratitude to Dr. McCarthy in which he said: “You have always exemplified what it means to be a kind and patient physician. You take the time to hear patients out and work with them through their toughest times. You really showed me what it meant be an empathetic physician before I became an Empathetic Scholar®.”
“Brandon is really living up to his potential at this medical school,” Dr. McCarthy said after reading Brandon’s letter. “He’s one of those students who really dives in wholeheartedly.”
Brandon is looking forward to starting the next chapter of his medical journey, meeting new residents and building new relationships.
“I just want to be able to help so many people,” he said. “I want to continue to learn and be the best doctor I can be.”
The future physicians learned where they will start the next phase of their medical education as resident physicians during a Match Day event held at TCU’s Amon G. Stadium on Friday, March 17.
“I am so proud of this inaugural class, and our team of leaders, who made this Match Day a success for all,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., the Founding Dean of Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. “This moment is the culmination of four years of hard work, passion and dedication. As Empathetic Scholars®, they will carry their passion for excellent patient care into hospitals and communities across the country. These students are the future of health care in our country.”
Every year, graduating medical students around the country find out at the same time where they will begin their careers as doctors within the specialty of their choice. The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) releases results to applicants seeking residency and fellowship training positions in the United States at 11 a.m. CST. This year, approximately 20,000 M.D. fourth-year medical students competed for residency positions in the United States.
The NRMP conducts the match using a computerized mathematical algorithm to align the preferences of applicants with the preferences of U.S. residency programs seeking new trainees. Residency training for most graduates will begin in June or July.
“The 2023 Main Residency Match is the largest in NRMP’s 70-year history in graduate medical education with 42,952 applicants who certified a rank order list and a record 40,375 positions in the Match,” says NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN. “We’re honored to be able to celebrate with the next generation of physicians as they transition to residency and are grateful of the trust Match participants continue to put in us year after year.”
With more medical school graduates than residency slots, placements are extremely competitive. In 2022, about 1,500 MD school graduates did not match in the process.
The Class of 2023, also known as the Dorman Scholars, are the inaugural class of medical students at the Burnett School of Medicine and matched to top residency programs such as the Stanford Health Care, Tufts Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic.
There will be 15 students entering residency programs in Texas, including nine in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The Burnett School of Medicine has been working with hospitals throughout North Texas to help build and grow graduate medical education (GME) slots. In 2021, the school announced an expanded affiliation with Texas Health Resources that includes support of GME programs at hospitals in Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Denton with nearly 50 new slots. That annual number is expected to increase to more than 110 by July 2024. In 2020, we announced a partnership with Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth for a resident training program that will eventually train more than 150 physicians annually.
Most medical schools reveal residency matches during an event where students open envelopes to reveal their match. But, the Burnett School of Medicine put a unique spin the event. It was held on the football field where students were able to choose a VIP to toss them a football containing a peel-away sticker revealing their residency match. Family and friends of the students, along with faculty and staff from the medical school, were also on the field or in the stands cheering them on.
Before the reveal, attendees were welcomed with brief remarks from Natalie Lundsteen, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Burnett School of Medicine, and Yolanda Becker, M.D., Director of Career and Professional Development at Burnett School of Medicine.
“We’ve all had the opportunity to get to know and watch these students grow into physician leaders who will help improve health care in all the communities you will enter,” Lundsteen said.
Briana Collins, MS-4, at Burnett School of Medicine matched in Internal Medicine at Stanford Health Care, which is one of the most prestigious residency programs in the country. She couldn’t believe she matched at her top choice.
“If you have a big dream, go for that,” Collins said. “I had folks pouring into me who believed in me when I went out to Stanford for my away rotation.”
Jonas Kruse, who matched at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center for an Interventional Radiology residency, added that the Burnett School of Medicine curriculum prepared him to land a residency spot.
“That was the last place I did as a part of my away rotations and I was the first one in and the last one out each day,” Kruse said. “For the last four years working with physicians in this curriculum really prepared me to do my best and put my best foot forward.”
The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter of the Burnett School of Medicine took over the school’s Instagram account to present programming for Black History Month. Follow our IG account here. Watch a video of the takeover here.
In 1990, Antonia Novello, M.D., became the first woman and first Hispanic to become surgeon general of the United States. As a child in Puerto Rico, Novello suffered from a congenital digestive condition that her family could barely afford to treat. That experience motivated her to study medicine and ensure that care was available to all. She earned her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico and was committed to battling health inequities among the poor and minority groups. As surgeon general, Novello chose to focus on protecting the young and the vulnerable, addressing such issues as underage drinking and cigarette ads that targeted children. In 2019, Dr. Novello visited our medical school to speak with students and faculty. On teaching future physicians, Dr. Novello said: “If one can teach them that medicine can be tech savvy, but at the same time empathetic, respect of the patient, communication, and caring about your human beings, what a way to go.”
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D.
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., said she turned to medicine after a close friend who was dying suggested she would have been spared her worst suffering if her physician had been a woman. In 1849, she became the first woman in the United States to be granted an M.D. degree from New York’s Geneva Medical College. She supported medical education for women and helped many other women’s careers. She also published several important books including Medicine as a Profession For Women in 1860 and Address on the Medical Education of Women in 1864. Dr. Blackwell wrote that she was initially repelled by the idea of studying medicine: She “hated everything connected with the body, and could not bear the sight of a medical book… My favourite studies were history and metaphysics, and the very thought of dwelling on the physical structure of the body and its various ailments filled me with disgust.”
Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D., was admitted to the New England Female Medical College in 1860. When she graduated in 1864, Crumpler was the first African American woman in the United States to earn an M.D. degree, and the only African American woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College, which merged with Boston University School of Medicine in 1873. In her groundbreaking 1883 publication, A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts, Dr. Crumpler wrote: “It may be well to state here that, having been reared by a kind aunt in Pennsylvania, whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought, I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.”
Susan LaFlesche Picotte, M.D.
When she was a child, Susan LaFlesche Picotte, M.D., witnessed a white doctor refusing to care for a Native American woman. In 1889, Picotte, the daughter of an Omaha chief, graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania at the top of her class and became the first Native American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. Upon returning home in 1890, she worked as a government physician responsible for 1,200 to 1,300 people. Dr. Picotte worked 15-hour days, yet she earned only half of what others in that position received. She was a strong advocate for political reform. In 1906, she led a delegation to Washington to lobby for prohibiting alcohol on the reservation. Dr. Picotte also became a county health officer and lobbied the state legislature to improve public health laws. In 1913, she opened a hospital in the remote reservation town of Waterhill, Nebraska.
Velma P. Scantlebury, M.D., FACS
Velma P. Scantlebury, M.D., FACS, knew she wanted to physician when she was 8 years old. In 1969, her parents moved from Barbados to New York City to give her a better chance to become a doctor. She earned her medical degree from Columbia University in New York City and became the first female African American transplant surgeon in the United States in 1989. She recently retired from ChristianaCare’s Kidney Transplant Program where she served as the Associate Director, and Director of Outpatient Clinics. Dr. Scantlebury is currently a Professor at the Burnett School of Medicine. “We have a lot of things to be grateful for when it comes to those who have paved the way before us,” Dr. Scantlebury said. “But when I think about the social inequities we have to realize that there are opportunities out there and that we all have potential. We all need to have that potential fostered and developed and recognized and given an opportunity to excel.”
Fourth-year medical students Briana Collins, Rachel Rice and Shelby Wildish shared their experiences during their Global Health Elective in India on the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU’s Instagram account last week. The students, accompanied by faculty member Hari Raja, M.D., are participating in a monthlong observation of Bangalaore Baptist Hospital. Watch a video here.
“I think today was profound,” Igbokidi said. “We had so many testimonies. We had so many young people.”
The mental health initiative, which was held at Lake Como House of Fades Barbershop on Sunday, February 5, is a collaboration between the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and the FWISD Family Action Center. Igbokidi partnered with the barbershop to give men of color a safe space to discuss mental health with their peers.
Over the course of three hours, Black men were able to come in and get a free haircut, while discussing topics close to their heart.
“It think it was everything it was supposed to be for an event that uplifts, inspires and empowers the community,” Igbokidi said.
Outside the barbershop, patrons were able to get free health screenings courtesy of the Black Heart Association. About 50 men were able to get screened and learn more about their health at the event.
“I hope that more people can be able to experience this magic that comes with the Barbershop Talk Therapy project,” Igbokidi said.
FORT WORTH – Tall concrete pillars, which will form the historic arches associated with Texas Christian University architecture, are lining the sky in Fort Worth’s Near Southside neighborhood.
Episode two of “On Site: Construction of the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University with Founding Dean, Stuart D. Flynn, M.D.,” details the concrete work of Linbeck construction crews on the new four-story medical education building.
Brooke Ruesch, Director of Project Development at TCU, gives a tour of the the Learning Studio, Arcade, elevators and café that will be located on the first floor. The building will support 240 medical students and hundreds of faculty and staff by summer 2024.
FORT WORTH – Mei Mei Edwards, who studied music as an undergrad before attending medical school, has experienced first-hand how music impacts patients.
The Burnett School of Medicine students recently learned about research that highlights the impact music can have on patient care from a world-renowned physician and musicologist.
“The lecture addressed this ancient connection between music and medicine,” Dr. Caicedo said. “How music affects our well-being, our cognitive health and how it also helps us connect with communities.”
Edwards said music brings in the pscho-social impact of a patient, a human being. “To me that was a very powerful aspect of Dr. Caicedo’s presentation of how music and even memory kind of come together,” she said.
Dr. Caicedo’s visit was a part of the THRIVE: Medical Student Well-Being Curriculum at the medical school. THRIVE is the longitudinal, integrated and collaborative system of instruction, learning and support for the School of Medicine students focusing on their well-being.
The goal of THRIVE is the continued development of knowledge, skills and attitudes about wellness for the medical students, according to Craig Keaton, Ph.D., Assistant Director of THRIVE: Medical Student Well-Being Curriculum.
“We’re looking into all the different ways we can build into the curriculum the development of the student as an individual personally and professionally,” Keaton said.
“Back when I was training, it improved my training and now I think it will improve my studying,” Amado said. “I love vegetables as a meal and finding alternate ways of getting protein in is important because you feel better after you eat and it’s lighter on your stomach.”
For medical students the rigors of medical school can be time consuming, expensive and physically and mentally taxing. Like student-athletes, medical students need to maintain a healthy diet to ensure their minds are in peak form.
“This isn’t something that they think about all that often,” said Chris Gilbody, Director of Financial Education and Scholarship at Burnett School of Medicine. “For them to be able to think about this, not only for themselves but also their future patients, is something I’m really excited about.”
The dishes were chick pea and spinach curry, chick pea salad, Tabbouleh and chick pea fajitas. Using chick peas as the star of each dish showed the students the versatility of plant-based meals, according to Bhattarai.
“If you’re looking for protein, you could make it with salad, or stew, or mix it with another salad like Tabbouleh to bulk up the meal,” Bhattarai said. “It’s versatile, nutritious and actually very budget friendly.”
Data released in October 2021 shows the average cost of groceries per month for a U.S. college student is $260, according to the Education Data Initiative. In Texas, the average cost for groceries per month is $191.
“I try to keep my budget low so I don’t go over my spending limit,” Amado said. “I give myself little allowances for the month so trying to stay within that budget is very important.”
Creating a manageable budget for food expenses can sometimes be challenging for medical students coming to Texas from all across the country, Gilbody added.
“A lot of the time different foods that are available in Texas might be different from what they are used to at home,” Gilbody said. “A lot of times you’ll turn to cooking yourself for a lot of those different inexpensive options that are healthy.”
As Amado continues her medical school journey to become a physician, she appreciates the additional support and advice.
“It’s all 100% super useful,” Amado said. “All the advice from financial [education] and how to stay in budget and use your resources has been super helpful. I’ve used it a ton so I’m really thankful they host these events.”
