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.
FORT WORTH – Medical Students at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine are helping young girls in Fort Worth break the stigma of talking about their menstrual cycle.
“We really want to get young girls acclimated to that word and not whispering it,” said Juhi Shah, a third-year medical student at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Really creating an open space for them to talk about it with us and tackle the stigma around those words.”
Shah and her classmates at the medical school in the Obstetrics & Gynecology Student Interest Group (OB-GYN SIG) launched the inaugural Period Supply Drive this past summer.
The group collected more than 5,000 female personal care items through a curated Amazon Wishlist and in-person drop-off donations between May 24 and July 9.
The group did not put any limitations of the type of female personal care item that could be donated, Shah said.
“We’re so happy we got a few menstrual cups in the donation because we really want the younger generation to be comfortable with them,” Shah said. “Being able to acclimate them will be so beneficial because it’s so environmentally friendly and healthier for your body and there are less complications with them.”
Karena Fassett, a third-year medical student, said that she was thrilled by the level of support for this initiative from the Fort Worth community and the medical school.
“I’m really happy for the support for this being our first drive,” Fassett said. “I’ve talked to people in the community and they’ve given us advice on really reaching out to local businesses and asking for their participation as well as we continue to grow and expand the initiative.”
The phenomenon of “period poverty” or inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education has been studied by physicians and researchers for quite a while.
“It’s something I’m learning my Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship rotations in OB-GYN is that you can’t assume that people already know how to use these supplies,” Fassett said. “It’s something we see really common in clinic. It’s younger girls coming in thinking they can’t use tampons and it turns out they’ve never been taught to use them properly.”
The group plans to create mini personal care item bags and donate them to community centers in the COMO, Northside/Diamond Hill and Stop 6 neighborhoods in Fort Worth that are a part of the school of medicine’s Learning Communities.
They will distribute the personal care bags during educational seminars at the community centers in the various neighborhoods this year.
“There is such a huge need in those communities,” Shah said. “When we go there they have such limited resources and they don’t have enough information about the medical complications that could happen if you leave a Tampon in for too long or what happens if you use a dirty rag or cloth instead of a pad. We want to be that resource and help them understand how this is also preventative care as well.”
FORT WORTH – TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine is proud to announce that Terence McCarthy, M.D., the John M. Geesbreght M.D., M.S. FACEP Endowed Chair of Emergency Medicine, has been selected by TeamHealth as Emergency Medicine Facility (Hospital) Medical Director of the Year for the Western United States for 2020.
Dr. McCarthy also currently serves as chief of staff and Medical Director Fort Worth Emergency Services Collaborative at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth.
“I truly see this recognition as a team award, because I am surrounded by so many talented hard working dedicated physicians. Any decision I make is a group effort and incorporates their wisdom,” said Dr. McCarthy.
TeamHealth’s annual Medical Director of the Year program was established in 2002 by Dr. Gar LaSalle, the company’s first chief medical officer, according to the TeamHealth website. The honorees are recognized at the annual TeamHealth National Medical Leadership Conference in May, which was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the conference attendees get to hear from top TeamHealth and industry leaders.
FORT WORTH – Texas Health Resources and the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine are expanding their affiliation to include support of graduate medical education (GME) programs at hospitals in Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Denton. This relationship will further promote growth of the physician workforce in North Texas.
By July 2022, Texas Health plans to have a total of nearly 50 residents training at GME program sites covered by this new affiliation. That annual number is expected to increase to more than 110 by July 2024.
“A steady pipeline of well-trained physicians is vital to serving our fast-growing region,” said Barclay Berdan, FACHE, CEO of Texas Health. “I’m proud of the collaboration between Texas Health and the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. As we increase the number of residents training at Texas Health, this partnership creates new avenues for educational activities, faculty engagement and research initiatives that will enhance our GME programs and help improve the health of the shared communities we serve.”
All medical school graduates must complete a period of GME, or residency training, to be licensed to practice medicine in the United States. GME comprises the second phase – after medical school – of the formal education that prepares doctors for medical practice. During residency, doctors learn skills and techniques specific to their specialty under the supervision of attending physicians and serve as part of care teams.
“I’m proud to see the expansion of medical residency programs here in Fort Worth,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “Our city is thriving and growing, and having the next generation of doctors training in our community is a major step toward a robust pipeline of doctors for the citizens of our city and the region.”
Nearly three-quarters of medical school graduates prefer to enroll in a residency program affiliated with a medical school, making a collaboration such as the one between Texas Health and the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine attractive, according to the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) 2021 Applicant Survey Report.
“This GME affiliation will have a lasting impact on our communities, as we are able to train more physicians right here in Texas and keep them here to practice,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Texas Health has been an incredible partner, and we are honored to work together with these leaders in healthcare to create excellent GME opportunities. Our focus on inspiring physicians to be Empathetic Scholars® pairs perfectly with Texas Health’s focus on improving the health and well-being of our community.”
Development of GME programs is an integral step toward retaining physicians in North Texas. In Texas, 67% of residents stay in-state after training. That number jumps to 81% if they also attend medical school in Texas, according to the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). This is especially important in the wake of a pandemic that has exacerbated the need to accelerate growth of the physician workforce. Only two states do better at retaining residents: Alaska and California.
According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), when it comes to comparably sized markets, Dallas-Fort Worth has fewer residency slots per 100,000 people than Chicago, Houston, New York and Los Angeles.
The physician workforce continues to be an issue in Texas. According to data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in the 2019 Physician Workforce Data Book, Texas had fewer physicians per 100,000 population than the nation as a whole, and it lagged behind the 10 most populous states. The shortage of all physicians statewide is projected to increase from 6,218 physicians in 2018 to 10,330 physicians in 2032, according to the May 2020 Texas Physician Supply and Demand Projections.
About Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that cares for more patients in North Texas than any other provider. With a service area that consists of 16 counties and more than 7 million people, the system is committed to providing quality, coordinated care through its Texas Health Physicians Group and 29 hospital locations under the banners of Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Arlington Memorial, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Huguley. Texas Health access points and services, ranging from acute-care hospitals and trauma centers to outpatient facilities and home health and preventive services, provide the full continuum of care for all stages of life. The system has more than 4,100 licensed hospital beds, 6,400 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 26,000 employees. For more information about Texas Health, call 1-877-THR-WELL, or visit www.TexasHealth.org.
About the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine
The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, Fort Worth’s M.D. school, opened with a class of 60 students in July 2019. TCU and UNTHSC joined together in July 2015 to form this new allopathic medical school. The School of Medicine’s focus on communication, a first-of-its-kind curriculum and the development of Empathetic Scholars® uniquely positions the organization to radically transform medical education, improving care for future generations. To make this new school possible, the greater North Texas community stepped up to help, providing philanthropic support. The school’s current Founding Donors include Alcon, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Anita and Kelly Cox, Baylor Scott & White, The Burnett Foundation, Cook Children’s, Texas Health Resources, Mr. H. Paul Dorman, Mr. Arnold and Mrs. Harriette Gachman, Dr. John and Mrs. Priscilla Geesbreght, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Rebecca and Jon Brumley, The Morris Foundation, Martha Sue Parr Trust, Tartaglino Richards Family Foundation, Thomas M., Helen McKee, & John P. Ryan Foundation, as well as three Anonymous donors. For more information, visit mdschool.tcu.edu
FORT WORTH – A local non-profit Latin American physician organization in North Texas has selected Isabella Amado, a first-year medical student at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, as their newest scholarship recipient.
Isabella Amado
“It is a huge honor to receive this scholarship,” Amado said. “This is a testament to all the hard work and effort I have put in and motivates me to continue making my mark wherever I go.”
The North Texas Latin American Physicians Association (NTLAPA) is made up of Latin American physicians and professional healthcare leaders working together to improve the quality of health care for the communities in North Texas through scholarship and community support.
The $10,000 scholarship was awarded to Amado, who is a native of Panama and whose family moved to Virginia Beach, Va., when she started high school in 2011. While in high school, Amado was a highly touted gymnast and earned a bronze medal in the 2014 Medellin World Cup. Amado earned a spot on the Panamanian Olympic team and competed as a gymnast in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Amado decided her next passion in life was to become a physician. She was accepted into the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine and began her studies in July 2021.
“I was surrounded by inspiring people at the dinner, most of whom were Latinx,” Amado said. “They shared incredible and inspiring stories of how they became physicians by overcoming the odds. As a Latin American woman, I aim to continue inspiring people to achieve their dreams and goals despite their circumstances.”
FORT WORTH – A study looking at health disparities among American Indians co-authored by Benjamin Jacobs, a second-year medical student at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, was recently published in the South Dakota Medicine journal.
The study looks at how American Indians, which are the largest minority population in South Dakota, are hampered by a numerous amount of health disparities.
The study also looks at if increasing medical students’ clinical experiences with American Indians can help American Indians’ better health outcomes in the future.
Jacobs and several other authors to the study surveyed data from more than 100 medical students at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM).
Christopher Fernandes and Siri Tummala, second-year medical students at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, had two separate abstracts called “Payor-Mandated Non-Medical Switching from Infliximab to Biosimilar Creates Dosing Delays” and “Infusible Biologics in Gastroenterology Physician Clinics Were Not Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic” accepted by the ACG.
The ACG 2021 conference will be held as a hybrid conference from October 22-27, 2021. The in-person portion of the ACG 2021 Annual Meeting educational sessions and exposition will be held in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. The virtual conference will be held online through the ACG 2021 Conference Platform on its website.
Fernandes and Tummala will be a part of the oral podium and video presentations that will take place from October 25-27. After the event, the abstracts will be available to view on the ACG’s featured science page.
“Being a new medical school and getting this award for the second year in a row is not only unique but it sets us on a platform with other medical schools that are more established,” said Lisa McBride, Ph.D., associate dean of Diversity and Inclusion at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “People around the country are taking notice and are highlighting things like our diversity and mentoring programs. We are training compassionate and humble Empathetic Scholars ®. For them to become that, they have to serve in underprivileged communities, which is what our School of Medicine learning communities are about.”
As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine will be featured, along with 50 other recipients, in the December 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, said in a news release. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”
Medical School Recipients of the 2021 Health Professions HEED Award include:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Florida State University College of Medicine
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical University of South Carolina
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of California, Riverside School of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of Mississippi Medical Center
UT Southwestern Medical Center
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
For more information about the 2021 Health Professions HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.
The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, Fort Worth’s M.D. school, opened with a class of 60 students in July 2019. TCU and UNTHSC joined together in July 2015 to form this new allopathic medical school. The School of Medicine’s focus on communication, a first-of-its-kind curriculum and the development of Empathetic Scholars® uniquely positions the organization to radically transform medical education, improving care for future generations. To make this new school possible, the greater North Texas community stepped up to help, providing philanthropic support. The school’s current Founding Donors include Alcon, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Anita and Kelly Cox, Baylor Scott & White, The Burnett Foundation, Cook Children’s,Texas Health Resources, Mr. H. Paul Dorman, Mr. Arnold and Mrs. Harriette Gachman, Dr. John and Mrs. Priscilla Geesbreght, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Rebecca and Jon Brumley, The Morris Foundation, Martha Sue Parr Trust, Tartaglino Richards Family Foundation, Thomas M., Helen McKee, & John P. Ryan Foundation, as well as three Anonymous donors.For more information, visit mdschool.tcu.edu
About INSIGHT Into Diversity
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity publication in higher education today and is well-known for its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, the only award recognizing colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across their campuses. In addition to its online job board, INSIGHT Into Diversity presents timely, thought-provoking news and feature stories on matters of diversity and inclusion across higher education and beyond. Articles include interviews with innovators and experts, as well as profiles of best practices and exemplary programs. Readers will also discover career opportunities that connect job seekers with institutions and businesses that embrace a diverse and inclusive workforce. Current, archived, and digital issues of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine are available online at insightintodiversity.com.
A gift to the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine will directly support our medical students and allow them to become Empathetic Scholars®. Our medical school is redefining medical education with its many Tarrant County health care partners, abandoning an outdated lecture model and transforming the clinical experience. The M.D.school offers a one-of-a-kind educational experience, tailored to how students learn best, capitalizing on teamwork and application sessions to retain knowledge, with the patient at the center of all they do.
TCU Gives Day Challenge totaling $500,000
If the medical school receives 150 gifts of any size for TCU Gives Day, an anonymous donor will give $500,000 to establish a permanent endowed scholarship fund for deserving students at the School of Medicine.
“People who know me would likely consider me frugal. Despite that tendency, I am inspired by generosity that captures my heart. The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine’s carefully selected students do just that! Many of these accomplished young women and men have overcome incredible obstacles and financial challenges in their path to medical school. The M.D. school provides a world-class education for these students of unique character who will be the Empathetic Scholars® who transform health care. I am inspired to support these outstanding students and the mission of the School of Medicine. Please join me in investing in their future.”
The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, by highlighting the medical school’s faculty and students. Watch their stories:
