FORT WORTH (June 10, 2020) – School of Medicine faculty members Amani Terrell, M.D., a pediatrician and associate professor, and Debra Atkisson, M.D., a psychiatrist and associate professor, along with special guest Odette Tomlinson, LPC-S, TFT-dx, the clinical director at The Parenting Center in Fort Worth discussed ways to talk about racism with your children on June 10.
This discussion comes on the heels of nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd that has led to a global discussion about racism and its effects on society. The panelists also talked about techniques parents can use to explain what racism is, what resources are available to parents and how racism affects pediatric care.
Listed below are resources for parents recommended by our experts:
FORT WORTH, Texas – Researchers have found a way to enable blind mice to be able to detect light by reprogramming skin cells into eye cells.
The study’s lead investigator, in the newly published study in Nature, is Sai Chavala, M.D., a professor at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine in Fort Worth.
“I am thrilled to be a part a team of extremely talented and dedicated researchers. Our field of medicine (Ophthalmology) is a bit underrepresented in scientific research, and there are few studies related to vision that are published in Nature magazine every year. To have one of these come from our research lab is a true honor.”
In the report, lead author Dr. Chavala, who is also the CEO and president of CIRC Therapeutics and the Center for Retina Innovation as well as the director of retina services at KE Eye Centers of Texas, laid out this novel approach to retinal regeneration that skirts the need for stem cells. The study was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) and the research was conducted at the North Texas Eye Research Institute at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC). The Health Science Center owns the intellectual property and has licensed rights for commercial development to CIRC Therapeutics.
“The excitement with stem cells is that they can form essentially any cell in the body,” Dr. Chavala said. “But the problem from a clinical standpoint is that they can become any cell in the body by growing rapidly. So how do you know that when you put these cells into the retina (eye) that you don’t accidentally inject a stem cell that can form a tumor?”
The technique the team discovered directly reprograms skin cells into light-sensing rod photoreceptors without a stem cell intermediary step, that can take six months or longer before cells or tissues are ready for transplantation. In comparison, the researchers’ lab-made rods only took 10 days to become ready for transplantation. It enabled blind mice to detect light after the cells were transplanted into the animal’s eye. Dr. Chavala and his team also demonstrated that they can reprogram human skin cells into retinal cells.
By producing retina-like cells, the study shows that there are new and faster approaches to developing therapies for patients with the most common form of age-related macular degeneration and other retinal disorders caused by the loss of photoreceptors.
“Our technique goes directly from skin cell to photoreceptor (eye cell) without the need for stem cells in between,” Dr. Chavala said. “The idea is that one day we might be able to offer a personalized treatment for macular degeneration by surgically transplanting one’s own engineered skin cells into the retina to serve as photoreceptor-like cells and hopefully restore vision.”
The breakthrough is important because currently, researchers have only been able to restore vision in patients with wet (neovascular) macular degeneration. Wet macular degeneration is characterized by blood vessels that grow under the retina and leak, which is rare and typically happens suddenly.
However, the more common form of vision loss is dry macular degeneration, which happens over the course of years. Dry macular degeneration is common among people 50 and older and causes blurred or reduced central vision due to thinning of the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for clear vision in your direct line of sight.“For that form (dry) of macular degeneration there is no therapy. There is no treatment,” Dr. Chavala said. “It’s frustrating for me because patients come to the clinic looking for hope and we’ve got nothing to offer. You’ve got people who have worked 30-40 years and are ready to enjoy retirement and then all of a sudden you get dry macular degeneration and you can’t see. I was inspired to become a physician-scientist to try to solve this problem.”
As a faculty member, Dr. Chavala’s scientific breakthrough is also meaningful to the medical students he teaches at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, who are exposed to the interface of research and medicine.
“Dr. Chavala’s work represents a significant advancement in the worldwide challenge to address retinal disease and blindness,” said Stuart Flynn, M.D., the Founding Dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “This work is a wonderful model for our students as they learn and experience the robust interface between the science and art of medicine, always with the focus on the patient”
And for patients regularly visiting Dr. Chavala’s clinic in North Texas, like Keller resident Roy Ryan, 88, finding a cure for dry macular degeneration would mean a lot for him and countless others.
“We’re hopeful that the cure is coming soon and if not for me for future generations to come,” Ryan said.
The next step for Dr. Chavala and his team of researchers will be working toward Federal Drug Administration approval, which is anticipated to be a 2 to 3-year process if adequate funding can be obtained, before the eye cell treatment can be studied in a clinical trial. Further research is needed to optimize the protocol to increase the rate of transplanted photoreceptors becoming functional. Dr. Chavala and his team have made strides to develop this technology to benefit patients with glaucoma.
“Vision loss is all about quality of life and that’s extremely important.” Dr. Chavala said. “I want my patients and the public to know that there is hope in sight.”
Moving forward, HSC will continue to support Dr. Chavala’s startup company and his efforts to seek further funding and development toward commercialization.
“We have world class research going on in Fort Worth at the Health Science Center,” said Claude Longoria, HSC Director of Technology Commercialization. “Our objective is to identify promising technology and help advance innovative technologies to benefit patients.”
Prescotte Stokes III is the Integrated Content and Marketing Manager. You can reach him at p.stokes@tcu.edu
TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine students are collecting donations of new and unused masks, gloves, and gowns for immediate distribution to Dallas-Fort Worth area community providers, clinics, and nursing homes.
Individuals and companies may drop off donations new and unused PPE everyday between 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. until April 20 at 3417 W. Cantey Street (TCU Frog Alley Parking Garage). Large donations also may be shipped or picked up.
In collaboration with the American Red Cross and Carter BloodCare, medical students are leading a social media campaign from March 30 through May 31 asking all who can to make an appointment with Red Cross or the local Carter BloodCare to safely donate blood. Participants are encouraged to share their photos, or stickers, after making a blood donation using the hashtag #FWMDBloodDrive. To schedule an appointment nationally, go to https://rcblood.org/3aqU1gQ or locally ,http://www.carterbloodcare.org/.
Schedule an appointment through the pledge link or at your local blood center. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, contact Carter BloodCare at www.carterbloodcare.org
Donate blood.
Post a picture or video on social media of your donation using #fwmdblooddrive
About 50 community members attended the launch of the TCU Alumni Association‘s Book Club on February 11 at Texas Christian University to hear from the book’s authors, Stephen Trzeciak, M.D., M.P.H., and Anthony Mazzarelli, M.D., J.D., M.B.E.
The discussion was moderated by Evonne Kaplan-Liss, M.D., M.P.H, the assistant dean of narrative reflection and patient communication at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, on a topic she is well-versed in as a physician and educator, compassion and communication.
“If you ask most patients, they think doctors are trained in communication and compassion,” Dr. Kaplan-Liss said. “They are in different ways in different medical schools but there still is an issue with the lack of compassion in medicine. We spent half a decade trying to convince thousands of STEM scientists and health care professionals why it matters. We needed to validate what we were doing and when this book came out, we were able to check that box off.”
TCU Alumni Book Club launch on February 11, 2020 at Texas Christian University.
For an hour and a half, the authors answered questions about their compelling research that health care is currently in the midst of a compassion crisis. They argue that human connection can provide distinct and measurable benefits.
“The good news is that science shows that we actually can get better and that’s a big emphasis in the book,” Dr. Trzeciak said. “The overwhelming evidence is that if one believes they can get better they will.”
To provide context to this point the authors explore four of the driving factors behind the power of including compassion in practicing medicine: It benefits patients and improves clinical outcomes; it reduces costs for health care systems and patients; health care providers who practice compassion are at a lower risk of experiencing burnout; and that compassionate behaviors are contagious in the social networks of health care providers and that can amplify the beneficial effects of compassionate health care.
But, as they have traveled the country giving talks about their findings, many health care providers raise concerns about the cost and time associated with practicing medicine with more compassion, according to Dr. Mazzarelli.
“When providers have a patient-centered practice the data shows they order less tests, they refer to specialists less, patients end up in the hospital less and the total charges at the end of the year are less,” Dr. Mazzarelli said. “You actually end up with less costs for those patients.”
Finding more practical and cost-effective ways to reducing health care costs is important to the bottom line of many health care systems. The American health care system is estimated to spend between $100 billion and $289 billion a year on non-adherence by patients, according to a 2017 New York Times article.
“Some of the most numerous studies on compassion show that when you have a care giver who is more compassionate people are more likely to adhere to their medications,” Dr. Mazzarelli said. “In almost every area when they looked at compassion it could lower cost.”
The authors’ message mirrors the Fort Worth medical school’s mission, which is to transform health care by inspiring Empathetic Scholars™.
Dr. Kaplan-Liss is currently the nation’s first dean whose sole focus is patient communication curriculum. Before joining the medical school, she helped pioneer a new approach to medical education as founding medical director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science in New York state that included communications training.
At the Fort Worth medical school, communication training is embedded in all four years of the curriculum through The Compassionate Practice™.
“It’s important to support programs to be able to develop and train health care providers to communicate with compassion because it’s needed,” Dr. Kaplan-Liss said.
Can doctors be taught how to be compassionate?
“When we started this journey, I personally did not believe compassion was something that you could learn,” Dr. Trzeciak said. “When you look at the biomedical literature and the scientific literature at large even in psychology studies the evidence shows quite clearly that empathy and compassion can be learned.”
The thing about learning how to be more compassionate is that you need the right type of training, especially for health care providers. The right kind of compassion training program can enhance altruistic behavior to cultivate feelings of compassion for other people, according to a 2018 study published by Nature.
“What we’re talking about are behaviors and not what someone believes in their mind,” Dr. Trzeciak said. “But how you behave towards another person which is ultimately what they’re going to be experiencing.”
An audience member brought up the challenge of maintaining compassion while encountering stress as a caregiver. There’s a current gap in the knowledge about the effects of compassion training and how often an individual might need to brush up on their skills, according to Dr. Trzeciak. “Is it something where every couple of months you need a refresher,” Dr. Trzeciak said.
Practicing medicine with compassion is not a quick fix for health care providers, the authors said. It is also a part of the art of practicing medicine and something to have in your toolbox as a health care provider, according to Dr. Mazzarelli.
“We make no claims that we’re more compassionate than any other doctor. We’re both works in progress,” Dr. Mazzarelli said. “After this two-year journey, I am a little more compassionate but I’m still working on it every shift and every day that I see patients.”
Prescotte Stokes III is the Integrated Content and Marketing Manager. You can reach him at p.stokes@tcu.edu
“We will be accepting our first class of residents in 2021,” said Mike Sanborn, MS RPh, FACHE, president of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth.
On February 5, physicians, journalists and community members packed into the atrium of the Andrews Women’s Hospital at Baylor, Scott & White – Fort Worth to get more details on the new collaboration.
“I could not be more pleased and prouder of this collaboration and so excited for the opportunities it provides to our future graduates, as well as what it means for our City and community,” said Stuart Flynn, M.D., founding dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine.
In 2020, the ACGME-accredited program will interview and select its first cohort of medical school graduates, who will begin their residencies at Baylor Scott & White Fort Worth in July of 2021 in the areas of internal medicine and emergency medicine. The program will add residents each year, reaching a peak of more than 150 residency positions in the 2027-2028 academic year.
“New GME (Graduate Medical Education) slots in Fort Worth and Tarrant County are a critical need in our community,” Dean Flynn said. “While we have a new medical school that will produce great graduates, they need more opportunities for residency training close to home. This is a tremendous step in meeting the needs of our community.”
First-year medical student Kassidy Fretz, a native of Colleyville, said the possibility of having the opportunity to begin practicing medicine at Baylor, Scott & White once she completes medical school in 2023 would mean a lot to her.
“I’ve grown up in this community all my life and it’s super meaningful to be able to serve people in the community that you grew up in,” Fretz said. “The other reason is that I have my family here. That would mean I wouldn’t have to uproot my children from their schools and my husband from his job.”
Keeping medical students within the state to complete their residency is a big benefit for North Texas and the state of Texas as a whole as well.
In Texas, 59 percent of residents stay in-state after training, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. If they attend medical school and do their residency in Texas, that number increases to 81 percent. This new collaboration is an academic-aligned program, allowing for competitive recruitment of top medical school graduates from Texas and across the United States.
The collaboration also marks a proud moment for Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price who has been one the biggest supporters of the medical school.
“I am so excited to see this collaboration between the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine and Baylor, Scott & White All Saints Fort Worth. This is the kind of announcement we envisioned happening when the new M.D. school launched,” Price said at the announcement. “This partnership will ensure Fort Worth continues to attract and retain the best minds in medicine to keep our community healthier and also show the world that Fort Worth is a city where medical innovation is taking place.”
The medical students have also been partnered with physicians based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and have been working with patients since their first weeks of school through the Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship.
The chance to possibly keep those relationships with local physicians and patients is a big plus for first-year medical student Brandon Mallory.
“Having done undergrad at the University of Texas at Dallas I have family and friends as a support system that can continue to support me through medical school,” Mallory said. “It’s also exciting for me and my classmates because we can continue the relationships we’ve built in medical school once we become full doctors.”
The program supplements existing graduate medical education in Fort Worth by providing more options for new physician graduates.
“The new affiliation will create a robust academic center in Fort Worth aimed at addressing physician shortages in the area and attracting and retaining the future generation of physicians,” Sanborn said. “Overall, this program will continue to emphasize Baylor Scott & White’s commitment to outstanding patient care, education and research, while providing more options for new physicians to live, stay and practice in Fort Worth.
Future programs will include OB/GYN, general surgery, anesthesia, as well as a transitional year program. Fellowship training programs in specialties such as cardiology, oncology, hepatology, and nephrology are also being considered.
“Prospective medical students and prospective GME residents will find a great collaboration for graduate medical education. Our faculty will teach in their residency training – and their residents will have a key role in training our medical students,” Flynn said. “Together we will address the important challenges of medical education and ensure long term that we will have enough physicians in our community and the meet our goal of inspiring Empathetic Scholars™ in both medical school and graduate medical education.”
Prescotte Stokes III is the Integrated Content and Marketing Manager. You can reach him at p.stokes@tcu.edu
FORT WORTH – If you come across someone wearing a navy-blue T-shirt with a bubbly, yet funky graphic on it around Fort Worth, that is all by design.
“As a fan of the color blue when I saw that was the color they chose I loved it,” said Kyle Schneider, a first-year medical student at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Knowing a little bit about the history of Fort Worth I felt like it (the tee) connected us better.”
On November 5, the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine revealed the winning T-shirt design to its inaugural class of 60 medical students. The Fort Worth M.D. School collaborated with Texas Christian University’s College of Fine Arts on the T-shirt Design Contest in which TCU students created artwork that encapsulated the unique, innovative new medical school.
From left to right: TCU Design Instructor Jan Ballard with students Elizabeth Ireland, Sarah Inorio with her winning T-shirt design and Jennifer Kiser at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine on November 5, 2019.
Sarah Inorio, a senior at TCU majoring in graphic design, won the contest with her “Funkytown M.D.,” bubble lettering design. She was one of four graphic design students who were finalists in the contest.
“It was really cool to see the whole class of medical students and be a part of this,” Inorio said.
Jan Ballard, an instructor of design at the TCU Department of Design, teaches the professional recognition course where upper class students were encouraged to compete in the graphic design contest.
Ballard said she wanted the design to be something that would resonate with the medical students and with the City of Fort Worth.
“I collaborated with the Fort Worth M.D. School to create a contest where T-shirts would be designed with a mantra,” Ballard said. “The mantra that was selected was Funkytown M.D.”
If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it is entrenched in popular American culture. Fort Worth was first dubbed “Funkytown Fort Worth” by R&B and hip-hop performers in the 1980s, according to Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy in a 2017 column. The moniker “sustained the city’s rich legacy of blues and jazz, which crosses racial lines from saxophonists Ornette Coleman and “King Curtis” Ousley to writer-producer T Bone Burnett or singer Delbert McClinton,” Kennedy wrote.
“My mom who lives in Montana was a big fan of the song,” Schneider said. “When I showed her the shirt, her first thought actually was the song.”
In 2000, when the rallying cry of “Keep Austin Weird” was born, the quick T-shirt response was “Keep Fort Worth Funky,” according to Kennedy’s column.
Inorio was aware of the history and it only took her a few sketches in her iPad to come up with the final design: “When I saw, ‘Funkytown M.D.,’ I thought you can make it fun. You can make it bubbly and funky. Knowing it’s on T-shirts and people are going to be wearing them it’s pretty cool.”
The reference to jazz/blues/R&B/hip-hop strikes a chord with medical students who are embarking in a curriculum that blends innovation, improvisation, communication and technique.
“I am definitely excited because we all had been awaiting the T-shirts,” said Samantha Evans, a first-year medical student. “It’s also so comfortable so it’s something I’ll have in my wardrobe on a weekly basis.”
TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine students with TCU Graphic Design Major Sarah Inorio (center).
Prescotte Stokes III is the Integrated Content and Marketing Manager at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. You can reach him at p.stokes@tcu.edu
“Our physicians and medical students need to be able to be compassionate in their communication,” Evonne Kaplan-Liss, M.D., M.P.H., the assistant dean for narrative reflection and patient communication at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine said. “Technology cannot replace breaking bad news or the connection patients seek.”
More than 250 people attended the panel discussion titled, “A Healthy Bottom Line: Improving the Patient Health Care Experience,” which was moderated by Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., founding dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, and Daniel Pullin, J.D., dean of the TCU Neeley School of Business.
Technology has helped streamline different types of businesses across the world. In many industries it has helped reduce costs, increase productivity and curate new customers, but in health care it has had a slightly different effect.
“Technology is helping us with a lot of things like diagnostics and treatment,” Kaplan-Liss said. “Ironically though as we use technology more the art of medicine becomes even more important.”
Winjie Tang Miao, M.H.A, senior executive vice president and chief experience officer at Texas Health Resources, and Benjamin Isgur, M.P.Aff., FACHE, Health Research Institute Leader at PwC US in Dallas, joined Dr. Kaplan-Liss to discuss what’s important to patients as they navigate the difficulties of modern health care.
“Ultimately, it’s going to determine where patients go for their health care,” Kaplan-Liss said.
The first challenge in preserving the patient experience is a financial hurdle for many Americans.
This country is paying more per healthcare outcome than any other industrialized nation in the world, Pullin said.
“If you can’t afford proper care, you can’t be your best self,” he said.
The average single health care deductible in 2019 is currently $1,655, but that’s slightly more than double the average of $826 a decade ago, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“They are spending more out of their pocket and they want a better experience,” Isgur said. “They are also seeing how they are being treated in other parts of the economy. When they work with travel companies or their financial institutions everything is available to them on their phones. They want that also in their health care world.”
Health care providers are also seeing other companies try to fill those voids for patients in various ways. About 75% of consumers surveyed by Accenture in 2018 said that technology is important to managing their health. In that same study, 48% of health care consumers reported that they were using mobile health apps compared with just 16% in 2014.
“We’re seeing other companies coming in from outside of health care to provide a better patient experience,” Isgur said. “That’s why there’s so much importance being placed on providing a great consumer experience in health care.”
There are also additional costs, federal government regulation and the fact that major health care industries deal with highly sensitive data from patients, according to Miao.
“As Ben [Isgur] said during our discussion, ‘Health care is not the same as buying an iPhone there are different stakes,’ ” Miao said. “But I do think improving work flow, improving the experience for a caregiver and being able to extend the care we provide to other settings that technology will be an enabler.”
She also added that implementing new technology that assists clinicians and help them preserve their connection with their patients should be a top priority.
“Consumers don’t want a transactional experience anymore,” Miao said. “Where health care companies can build value is earning a lifetime of loyalty and trust from patients.”
What does patient satisfaction have to do with the bottom line in the health care industry?
“Patient satisfaction affects clinical outcomes, patient retention and medical malpractice claims,” Flynn said. “Patients who trust their doctors have better clinical outcomes.”
“On a local level I think it’s about meeting people where they are,” Miao said. “And providing care and support in that moment when they need it. While there’s technology and all these global trends ultimately healthcare is a very personal thing. So now the goal is to figure out how do we keep that personalization.”
Kaplan-Liss said this begins with a new approach to medical education for future physicians and more training for current practicing physicians.
“Compassion is empathy plus action, and we’re training our medical students to do this,” Kaplan-Liss said.
She is currently the nation’s first dean devoted solely to patient communication. Before joining the Fort Worth medical school, Kaplan-Liss previously served as founding medical director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science in New York state.
There, she developed the curriculum and led national and international workshops to educate students, faculty, and administrators.
“We’re all empathetic but what makes or breaks an encounter with a patient is whether you can show that empathy,” Kaplan-Liss said. “The moment is missed in 87 percent of encounters in primary care.”
More than 250 people attended the health care forum titled, “A Healthy Bottom Line: Improving the Patient Health Care Experience,” which was moderated by Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., founding dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, and Daniel Pullin, J.D., dean of the TCU Neeley School of Business on December 4, 2019 at TCU.
Prescotte Stokes III is the Integrated Content and Marketing Manager at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. You can reach him at p.stokes@tcu.edu
“I think there’s something so special about being first,” said medical student Shanice Cox. “I think I will be able to shape a new energy in this school and the pathway we’re going too. So, I’m really excited.”
With a curriculum designed to transform medical education, this visionary medical school will focus on creating physicians who are compassionate leaders prepared for the future.
The Class of 2023kicked off their first week at Texas Christian University with Founding Dean Stuart Flynn, M.D., who engaged with the 60 students in a private session.
The incoming students said the hourlong session gave them a safe space to ask him questions. “It was an incredible experience. I can tell that he truly cares about this medical school and he seemed so excited to work with us and transform health care,” said medical student Connor Rodriguez.
Afterward, the energy and excitement among the students was visible as they made their way to the third floor of the Brown-Lupton Union to take their official school photos. Although a few of the students had met each other during Second Look Weekend in April, for many, Welcome Week was the first time to meet their classmates.
“It was really exciting to see who got to come back,” Cox said. “They’ve all been so pleasant I feel like we’ll mesh really well as a class.”
The School of Medicine faculty and staff got their first opportunity to mingle with the students and their families during a lunch on the TCU campus.
“I’m so excited to meet them; it’s been such a long journey to get to this day,” Shawn Wagner, Business Operations and Facilities Manager for the School of Medicine said.
Lots of lively conversations between the students, their families and the faculty and staff filled the grand ballroom of the Brown-Lupton Union.
One conversation in particular had student Mckenna Chalman all smiles. She spoke with one of her mentors, Terence McCarthy, M.D., the chair of Emergency Medicine at the School of Medicine.
“I’m trying not to focus on only being an emergency room doctor, but I worked as a Scribe for Dr. McCarthy so I’m so excited to have someone I look up too as a part of my formal medical education,” Chalman said. “My mom was also a nurse and worked in pediatrics so I’m trying to keep my options open…being in this room with so many accomplished physicians, I just feel like the sky’s the limit.”
Flynn made his first address to the entire School of Medicine faculty, staff and student body during the lunch.
As the students leaned in and looked toward the podium, Flynn commended the students for being risk-takers. He also reassured them that their medical training at the School of Medicine will have them ready for the changes in health care they will face as physicians.
“We are preparing you all to be the type of physicians we will need by 2030,” Flynn said. “You all will be pioneers in medical innovation and technology. You’ll be able to communicate effectively and compassionately with your patients and lead by example in the ever-changing health care industry.”
Welcome Week Breakfast for our School of Medicine Students. President Williams and Provost Taylor will speak at the breakfast in the IREB on July 9, 2019.
Introduction to UNTHSC
On Day 2, University of North Texas Health Science Center President Michael R. Williams, M.D., D.O., and Provost Charles Taylor, PharmD spoke to the students at breakfast
Williams told the students to be committed to helping reclaim the human element in medical care.
“Where else do you walk into a room, meet someone and within five minutes tell them everything about yourself with the trust that this person will take this information and help create a better life for you?” said Williams about the doctor-patient relationship. “It is a sacred relationship.”
Taylor echoed the same sentiment. He told the students that their four-year journey will be distinctive because of the School of Medicine’s promise to infuse innovation and teamwork into the curriculum every step of the way.
“We are here to improve the human condition,” Taylor said. “Help people live healthier, better lives. It’s such a meaningful, powerful reason to get up every day.”
Media from all across the Dallas-Fort Worth area came to UNTHSC to hear some of the stories students had to share about getting into medical school.
“It was exciting, and it really made us feel special,” Chalman said after speaking with Fox 4 News. “We all knew choosing this medical school was going to be different and to see all the enthusiasm the community has for us just makes us want to go out a do our best to contribute to the community.”
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price speaks with TCU and UTNHSC School of Medicine student Sophia Wix.
A community welcome
Fort Worth community members got a chance to meet the inaugural class at the Colonial Country Club on Wednesday morning.
Many prominent members of the local medical community were in attendance and the students were given a celebratory, ‘howdy,’ along with words of encouragement from Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
In the afternoon, student were introduced to the school’s communications curriculum called The Compassionate PracticeTM.
This curriculum was one of the reasons Shanice Cox chose the medical school.
“This dream has been in the makings for a long time for me,” Cox said. “When the staff came to Hampton University to give one of their talks about this I was just blown away. I said to myself, ‘I have to be here,’ this is honestly the type of place that I’ve been praying for.”
The Compassionate Practice™ is an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to build skills in awareness, listening, inquiry and engagement to foster exceptional connections between physicians and their patients, their teams, and their communities. It uses theatre pedagogy to train doctors to improvise, build authentic connections, and take responsibility for their audience.
It will also use journalism and narrative medicine techniques to train doctors to speak in a language appropriate to their audience’s understanding, Evonne Kaplan-Liss, M.D., assistant dean of narrative reflection and patient communication.
“I was happy to see how engaged and interested they were and valued the importance of communicating with compassion,” Kaplan-Liss said. “Their attention to detail and getting it right in all the different scenarios we gave them was impressive. I told them we will train them to be great doctors no doubt about it. But everything is changing in health care and you can tell they are different than traditional medical students. They’re here because they understand the value of communication in medicine.”
A pep rally
The Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena at TCU was decked out in purple, yellow, orange, green, red and blue. Those colors represent the six Learning Communities the students will be divided into with two Physician Development Coaches leading each community.
Dozens of School of Medicine faculty, staff and family members of the students waved colorful pompoms underneath pulsating strobe lights and clouds of smoke as an announcer introduced the coaches and their cohort of students.
“We didn’t expect any of this,” Connor Rodriguez said with a smile. “It’s so special to be a part of the inaugural class. The energy here is so great and we are just ready to hit the ground running and meet our patients and start building those bonds and relationships with them.”
The goal was to let the students know that getting into medical school and their arrival in Fort Worth is special, according to Danika Franks, M.D., assistant dean of student affairs at the School of Medicine.
“For some of them I think it kind of blew them away,” Dr. Franks said. “I think they enjoyed the fact that we want to celebrate them. We really want to celebrate these communities that we’re forming.”
The PDCs are all physicians from the Dallas-Fort Worth area that have been certified as coaches by the International Coach Federation.
This innovative and unique student experience is designed to foster a coaching relationship that will contribute toward student professional identity formation while providing an additional layer of support toward the student’s academic success.
“We want the students to understand the social mission of this initiative and how we’re going to relate to the Fort Worth community,” Franks said. “The program is here to support the students and help them grow. It really just kind of mirrors how much we believe and want to empower the students to embrace and be a part of their community.”
By Friday morning, things had calmed down as the students headed to Frog Camp, a daylong student retreat where they had the chance to reflect on the week. The students met with their PDCs and began to settle into their roles as medical students.
“It really eased us into beginning medical school and gave us a good idea of what to expect next week,” Chalman said. “It calmed our nerves and just showed us how excited everyone is to have us here.”
“We set out to have practicing physicians trained as coaches” so the students would know that they could relate with their journey, said Jennifer Allie, Ph. D., senior associate dean of faculty affairs and development at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Also, the training will help us shift the focus off of the expertise of the faculty and focus more on the students’ needs and well-being.”
The School of Medicine has developed the PDC program that will pair each student with a coach and additional student team members. This cohort of coaches paired with students will serve as an integrated home within the school of medicine for students. This innovative and unique student experience is designed to foster a coaching relationship that will contribute toward student professional identity formation while providing an additional layer of support toward the student’s academic success.
The PDCs were certified as coaches during a ceremony at the TCU campus on June 26.
Can doctors be taught how to be compassionate?
