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FORT WORTH – During a short break from medical school during Summer 2021, Sereena Jivraj, a second-year medical student at the TCU School of Medicine, had a burning desire to create something.

She combined her love for science, medicine and children for something special. She made the most of her time by writing two children’s books entitled, “Connor and His Composting Adventures” and “Ella and Her Vaccine Soldiers”.

“I’ve had these ideas in the back of my mind for some time,” Jivraj said. “I’ve spent so much time around children whether that was tutoring or babysitting and I’ve always been reading children’s books for years and it just felt like I’ve been so involved with kids in the past that it would be cool to keep it going in the future. “

In “Connor and His Composting Adventures,” Connor learns what the difference is between compost and regular trash. Throughout the course of the story Connor learns what everyday items can be composted and how to prevent trash from ending up in a landfill.

“The point is just to educate kids and even parents on what composting is,” Jivraj said. “A lot of people when you speak to them about it they’ve never heard of it. What I really wanted to do is be able to instill that knowledge from a young age. Hopefully that will make it easier to make changes in our society one day in the future.”

Her second children’s book called  “Ella and Her Vaccine Soldiers” is about young Ella’s visit to her doctor. Ella learns how important vaccines are and how they can turn into “mini soldiers” to help her body fight viruses and diseases.

“With COVID-19 around last few years and previously with flu shots, I can remember everyone being afraid to go to the doctor just because they knew a shot was coming,” Jivraj said. “I want kids’ fears to be diminished so they can have a healthy relationship with their doctors and not fear them because you’re really brave when you get these vaccinations. I don’t want this fear of vaccines to prevent you getting the help that you need.”

Writing the books was a process that helped Jivraj tackle some of her own issues with long form writing. She reached out to the medical school’s Compassionate Practice® team after she did some volunteer work gathering donations for homeless individuals in Fort Worth and felt compelled to pen a poem about her experience.

“I used it as a way to get out my emotions and help me decompress,” Jivraj said. “I went to the Compassionate Practice® team and that kind of gave me the confidence to do this because I always felt like writing was my weakness.”

She also talked to Samir Nangia, M.D., a Physician Development Coach at the medical school, about the idea of penning the children’s books. During their chats, Dr. Naniga said that her urged Jivraj not to put her ideas off and take some time during her break to pursue them.

“In some instances, through coaching we can help students become more efficient with their time management and help them discover what resources they need to make their dreams a reality,” Dr. Nangia said.  “However, in some instances all it takes is that motivation and emotional support.  Both of which were true in Sereena’s case.”

In addition to embracing her creativity, Jivraj said that she chose to author children’s books so the information would be easy to understand and accessible to all people.

“This is a book that you can read to your child in your belly or read to your newborn,” Jivraj said. “Because just exposing them to the vocabulary and to the words it helps create those processes in their brains so when they are exposed to it later on, they are not completely confused about it.”

Both books “Connor and His Composting Adventures” and “Ella and Her Vaccine Soldiers” are available in the Amazon Store as a download or paperback version. They are also available to download on Kindle.

FORT WORTH – The American Medical Association-Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS) Region 3 executive board recently elected Anand Singh, a first-year medical student at TCU School of Medicine to serve as the Co-Advocacy Chair.

The AMA-MSS Region 3 includes medical schools in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.

“My job is to learn about what different health care policies are being passed in these different states,” Singh said. “And spread that news and raise awareness among medical students because as we all know these policies impact everyone from students to physicians and patients.”

Singh will oversee the Region 3 advocacy committee and lead advocacy initiatives to engage region chapters.

He will also work with the Advocacy Subcommittee of the Committee on Legislation and Advocacy (COLA) to help our region engage with events like National Advocacy Week (NAW) and the Medical Student Advocacy Conference (MAC). He will also support the Membership Chair and Secretary in reaching out to local chapters to highlight advocacy endeavors and provide advocacy updates in AMA-MSS Region 3 monthly newsletters.

“Policy writing is very niche and not every physician has to do that but the way this connects with the medical school is how they teach us to be an advocate for your patients,” Singh said. “And growing that idea on a larger scale its advocating for your population. Not only talking to physicians you’re talking to legislative members, congress members and kind of impact a larger audience that’s a really great opportunity as future physicians.”

The Medical Student Section (MSS) aims to be a voice for medical students’ across the AMA to help improve medical education and advocating for the future of medicine.

FORT WORTH – As TCU continues to stay vigilant in its public health efforts to provide a safe campus for students in the Spring 2022 semester, TCU School of Medicine students are doing their part by sharing their clinical experiences with other students on campus.

The medical school’s video series is part of TCU’s ‘Protect the Purple’ campaign. The videos feature third-year medical students Brandon Mallory and Quinn Losefsky, along with second-year medical student Sam Sayed.

Brandon was working with his OB-GYN preceptor and taking care of a pregnant woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“We were able to deliver the baby and all that,” he said. “But the mom just kept getting sicker and sicker and sicker.”

You can watch the full interview below.

Quinn talked about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted her medical school education.

“It pretty much influenced drastically how we were learning and what we were learning and continues to do so,” she said.

You can watch the full interview below.

Sam shared a personal story about how his father battled COVID-19. He added that he felt his father’s vaccinations kept him alive.

“My dad has had every comorbidity on Earth who had COVID pneumonia and was in the ICU,” he said. “But he was vaccinated and got out three days later.”

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 12, 2021) – After a successful collaboration that resulted in the creation of one of the nation’s newest allopathic medical schools, Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, will advance the school to its next chapter by transitioning its governance solely to its degree-granting institution, TCU.

The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine was announced in 2015 with the vision of becoming an innovative medical school that would contribute to Fort Worth’s growing bioscience sector.

With the support of community leaders, philanthropists and foundations, the School of Medicine was launched and has grown to become a home for talented medical students and a pioneering resource in a rapidly expanding regional health care landscape.

The first class of students began in July 2019 and will graduate in 2023. The School of Medicine currently is recruiting its fourth class who will begin in July 2022.

“This is an exciting and transformational medical school with remarkable students,” said TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr.  “We are grateful to UNTHSC for their collaboration and for all of the hard work and dedication needed to get this school launched successfully. Our graduates will be Empathetic Scholars® and will benefit from the vision of both schools for years to come.”

The school will now operate as the TCU School of Medicine. Classes will continue on both the TCU and UNTHSC campuses and will eventually transition to new space. With students as the top priority, the academic mission will continue without disruption.

While the school was formed as a collaboration, TCU has always been identified as the governing university for the School of Medicine and all faculty have TCU faculty appointments.

We are extraordinarily proud of what has been achieved on behalf of our community with this transformative medical school,” said Teresa Dahlberg, TCU Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “The TCU School of Medicine will continue to build upon the innovative curriculum and rigorous clinical training that defines this program. We are fortunate to have some of the most talented medical students and faculty in the country, living and learning in our community. Our students’ academic progression and experience remains our top priority and we are thrilled to continue our forward momentum.”

The School of Medicine is future focused with an emphasis on inspiring students to embrace the future advances in medicine and to be prepared for the rapidly changing health care arena.

“Our School of Medicine was built on innovation and flexibility. These concepts remain essential as we forge our new path to the future,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., Founding Dean of the School of Medicine. “Innovation means that we are constantly looking at new ways of doing things and finding creative solutions to challenges. We have the opportunity to model these changes with a positive spirit and enthusiasm for the possibilities that arise.”

The medical school was created with an innovative curriculum that focuses on developing Empathetic Scholars® and future physicians who are able to walk in a patient’s shoes. This forward approach to medical education includes flipped classrooms without lectures and partnering students with physicians from their first day in medical school.

This novel approach gives students more time to embrace and study the major drivers in the future of medicine, including artificial intelligence, genomics, and technology monitoring patient health and disease. Each student also does a four-year Scholarly, Pursuit & Thesis research project on a topic of their own choice to promote life-long inquiry and learning.

The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in 2018. In February 2021 a team of accreditors from the LCME met with senior leadership, faculty and students during a virtual site visit before making their Provisional Accreditation decision. In mid-June 2021 the LCME voted to grant Provisional Accreditation to the innovative medical school bringing us one step closer to full accreditation.

The School of Medicine has also launched graduate medical education collaborations with JPS Health Network, Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth and Texas Health Resources which will remain in place. Those important partnerships will improve health and the delivery of care in North Texas as well as help address the increasing physician shortage in Fort Worth and beyond.

VIEW TCU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE TRANSITION FAQ

FORT WORTH – First-year medical students at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine gazed into a potential future in ophthalmology.

The students who toured the Alcon Experience Center in Fort Worth were introduced to innovative technology and experienced first-hand what it would be like to perform cataract surgery.

“Today, we had a wet lab experience using synthetic eyes to introduce the next generation of ophthalmologists to microsurgery,” said School of Medicine faculty member Sai Chavala, a groundbreaking researcher and ophthalmologist. “We taught them the principles of cataract surgery to see if this was something that would be of interest to them.”

The center’s primary purpose is to host Alcon’s clients for training and research as well as train Alcon employees on the company’s products and equipment. The medical students were divided into small groups to be able to experience each of the interactive stations at the center.

“One of my favorite moments of the tour was the heads-up technology,” said first-year medical student Lindsay Zumwalt. “I think it’s incredible that such a new technology like this can impact the daily work of an ophthalmologist.”

Fort Worth-based Alcon is the largest eye care device company in the world – with complimentary businesses in Surgical and Vision Care – and serves patients in more than 140 countries.

“We need more young, bright minds, particularly with diverse representation, in ophthalmology,” said Melissa Thompson, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Alcon. “I’m hoping that some of those students who become ophthalmologists will then go on to support charitable efforts to help marginalized, vulnerable populations who need eye help.”

FORT WORTH – The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine exceeded its goal on TCU Gives Day and secured a $500,000 Challenge Grant for scholarship support from an anonymous donor because of your generosity.

Additionally, Dr. Melvin E. Clouse, TCU Class of 1957, and his wife, Marian, gave $100,000 on TCU Gives Day to establish a new endowed scholarship for medical students to help make this year’s campaign the most successful yet. The Clouse Family Endowed Medical Scholarship will be awarded for the first time next fall.

More than 249 gifts were given totaling nearly $647,332. Your support has had a tremendous impact!

Read more on how giving impacts our students here.

FORT WORTH – It’s not every day that aspiring physicians and healthcare professionals get the opportunity to meet pioneering physicians.

Charna Kinard, a third-year medical student at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, along with about 100 hundred other students from TCU got that opportunity with Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., and Velma Scantlebury, M.D., visiting professor at the school of medicine, during their book signing and a fireside chat in mid-November.

Kinard was appreciative of being able to have access to someone such as Dr. Scantlebury during the event, but also during some class instruction.

“It’s like experiencing history in the making,” Kinard said. “I admire her so much. She’s a trailblazer. She made her own path. To get that experience from her is like refilling your own cup of motivation.”

The event, which was hosted by the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, was held inside TCU’s Brown Lupton University Union (BLUU) Auditorium with help from The Illustrious Iota Eta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., JPS Health System, C.V. Roman Medical Society – Dallas Chapter, TCU Pre-Health Professions Institute and TCU School of Interdisciplinary Studies Women & Gender Studies, who were sponsors of  the event.

Dr. Scantlebury, the first African-American woman transplant surgeon of the United States. and Dr. Ross-Lee, the first African-American woman appointed dean of a U.S. medical school, shared some insight into their own journeys into medicine with those in attendance. Both women are also featured in the newly published book ‘Against All Odds: Celebrating Black Women in Medicine’ by Crystal R. Emery. They spoke about their roles in helping change the face of medicine as Black women working in medicine and medical education.

The chat was moderated by Tricia Elliott, M.D., FACS, professor at the school of medicine and Senior VP, Academic and Research Affairs, Chief Academic Officer with JPS Health Network, who said she was honored to share the stage with the pioneering physicians.

“Having a discussion with physicians and medical educators of their stature with these students is absolutely critical,” Dr. Elliott said. “We have to help them understand where Black women and women of color fit within our healthcare system and the power that we have to be able inspire our students to see what they can accomplish in medicine.”

Dr. Ross-Lee opened the discussion sharing her thoughts on why it is critical that more African-American women and women of color become physicians and move into leadership roles in medical education.

“Medicine has some significant issues and in order to address those issues we need to have broader perspectives that include people of color and include women,” Dr. Ross-Lee said.

Dr. Ross-Lee, who is currently the chair of American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Racism and Injustice in Healthcare Education Adaptive Working Group and president elect of the American Osteopathic Foundation, was the first African-American woman to serve as dean of Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine from 1993 to 2001.

“It was not my goal to teach the world what women of color could do but I was not going to be limited by what the world said I could do,” Dr. Ross-Lee said.

Dr. Scantlebury echoed the sentiment about having to prove she belonged in medicine.

“Even in my generation in the ’70s and ’80s, just like Dr. Ross-Lee, I was told I couldn’t be a doctor because I wasn’t your typical white male,” Dr. Scantlebury said.

Dr. Scantlebury recently retired from Christiana Care’s Kidney Transplant Program where she served as the Associate Director and Director of Outpatient Clinics in Delaware. She earned her medical degree from Columbia University in New York City. After completing her residency in general surgery at Harlem Hospital Center in New York City, she did her fellowship training in transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and then joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where she rose to the rank of associate professor of surgery in 1989.

She has been named to both the “Best Doctors in America” and “Top Doctors in America” lists multiple times. She was recently awarded the Delaware History Makers for 2021 sharing company with other prestigious winners of that award such as President Joe Biden.

Among the students in attendance for the chat was Hira Nazim, a third-year medical student at the school of medicine. She said she felt inspired to continue breaking down barriers for people of color and women in medicine just as Dr. Scantlebury and Dr. Ross-Lee have done.

“Meeting people who have navigated those terrains already I think gives us a really good framework of how we can do it ourselves and help the people who come after us,” Nazim said.

FORT WORTH – TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine visiting professor Velma P. Scantlebury-White, M.D., FACS was presented with the Delaware History Maker’s Award.

“I am deeply honored,” Dr. Scantlebury-White said. “And I am also deeply honored to be able to say that I am the first Black American female recipient of this award in Delaware.”

Dr. Scantlebury-White joined a distinguished group of previous winners honored including President Joe Biden and filmmaker Ken Burns. The event was held on October 7 at the Delaware History Museum in Wilmington.

During her acceptance speech, Dr. Scantlebury-White honored Delaware Historical Society and thanked them for selecting her to be a part of the state’s prestigious group.

“I now stand before you as the newest member of this distinguished group of wonderful men and women from the state of Delaware,” Dr. Scantlebury-White said.

She even quipped at being able to tell her grandchildren about one day meeting President Biden.

“I’m really looking forward to a reunion,” Dr. Scantlebury-White said. “We can all be together in the same place and I can go back and actually tell my grandchildren that I’m actually in the same society as our president.”

Dr. Scantlebury-White, who was born in in Goodland, St. Michaels Parish, Barbados in 1955, has been a resident of Delaware since 2008. She served as the director of the kidney transplant program at Christiana Care Health System until she ended her career as a transplant surgeon in October 2020. Throughout her career, she has performed more than 2,000 transplant surgeries.

“I have to say that God placed me in the right place and allowed me to come here to Delaware,” Dr. Scantlebury-White said.

In 1989, she became the first African-American female surgeon. She was named as one of the “Best Doctors in America” in 2003 and was listed as one of the “Top Doctors in America” in 2004 and 2006.

At the event, Dr. Scantlebury-White  was joined by her family, friends, colleagues, Delta Theta Sorority members, and Lisa McBride, Ph.D., the associate dean of Diversity & Inclusion at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine.

“It was remarkable because you had the entire medical community there supporting her,” Dr. McBride said. “Transplant recipients and their families were there and also the Prime Minister of Barbados was there. What stood out to me in her remarks that were humbling was the struggle of being Black and becoming a surgeon and what she went through.”

Throughout her journey to becoming he first African-American female Transplant Surgeon Dr. Scantlebury-White faced many micro-aggressions and racism.

Despite the obstacles she was able to receive guidance and mentorship from renowned physicians such as Dr. Barbara Barlow and Dr. Thomas Starzl, the pioneer of liver transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh’s Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute where she had a fellowship.

“I’m here today because of my mentors and the sponsors along the way who helped make this path possible for me,” Dr. Scantlebury-White said.

Now, in her role at the medical school, Dr. McBride is hoping the medical students can begin to build mentor relationships with Dr. Scantlebury-White.

“The medical students should not overlook what we’re availing to them at the medical school.” Dr. McBride said.  “We’re a young medical school so to say she’s a history maker and she is accessible to the students is a huge deal.”

FORT WORTH –TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine’s Jerome Wilcox, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, will be recognized as a DEI Champion at the 18^th annual National Diversity & Leadership Conference in 2022.

“So honored to be recognized by the Diversity & Leadership, Inc.,” Wilcox said. “So much of what I do I consider to be a calling and not a job so to be recognized in this way is such a blessing.”

The 2022 Annual Diversity & Leadership Conference will be held on March 22-24 and April 4-7, 2022.

The conference awards the DEI Champions ™ Award to professionals who are passionate about creating an impact in the ever-growing field of diversity and inclusion. The honoree must show a continuing commitment to advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in their workplace and actively promoted inter-group relations among persons of different races, ages, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious backgrounds, or physical and mental abilities.

“Who would have thought that back in 2015 when I attended my first Diversity & Leadership Conference in Philadelphia that I would one day be a recipient?” Wilcox said.

FORT WORTH – Important medical collaborations and medical research is happening in Fort Worth, so what does that mean for the city’s growth in the future? Our guest panelist discussed that and more during our FWMD LIVE chat on Wednesday, November 10.

TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine Founding Dean Stuart D. Flynn, M.D.; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; Adeel Chaudhry, M.D., physician resident at Baylor, Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth; and Quinn Losefsky, third-year medical student at the medical school answered questions about the future of health care in Fort Worth and what graduate medical education collaborations between the medical and hospital systems can mean for the North Texas community.

Here is a list for resources shared by our guest’s panelist with more information Fort Worth’s growing influence in health care.

• Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth website for Graduate Medical Education (GME): https://www.bswhealth.med/education/Pages/gme/fort-worth.aspx
• Fort Worth Gets New Graduate Medical Education Program: https://mdschool.tcu.edu/news-item/fort-worth-gets-new-graduate-medical-education-program/
• Texas Health Resources and TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine Announce New Graduate Medical Education Program: https://mdschool.tcu.edu/news-item/texas-health-resources-and-tcu-and-unthsc-school-of-medicine-announce-new-graduate-medical-education-program/
• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) report on physician shortage in U.S.: https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/aamc-report-reinforces-mounting-physician-shortage?fbclid=IwAR1qtxP1nmVUe587gCMhZOeCq7mrE6BFBW9_mBVCU7XWk9J8RHaRO9ESb5E