One vision. Two universities. Three years of work. The payoff: A new medical school
Finishing touches at Fort Worth’s new M.D. school were underway Friday, including filling student lockers with coffee mugs, T-shirts, medical scrubs and journals aimed at building a sense of welcome for the inaugural class.
Members of the medical school’s incoming class of 60 begin their journey to become M.D.s on Monday. The school’s activities include a luncheon for the Class of 2023 that kicks off a “Welcome Week.” Activities will take students to events and orientation activities on the TCU and University of North Texas Health Science campuses in Fort Worth.
Classes officially begin on July 15.
“We are truly excited — after three full years — of welcoming our class next week to the campus for the first time,” said Carlos Tapia, the medical school’s director of admissions. “They have been here for interviews, but I think now it is becoming real in a sense. They are excited and we are excited that they will be here.”
The opening of the medical school marks the fruition of a much touted partnership between TCU and the UNTHSC. These doctors-in-training will attend both campuses while also learning hands-on in professional clinics across the community.
The school is expected to help address a projected national shortage of more than 120,000 clinicians by 2030. It has trademarked the term “Empathetic Scholars,” to describe doctors who enter the workforce as compassionate physicians who excel in technology.
These upcoming physicians will learn under guidance of professional doctors while also delving deep into developing their communications skills. These programs are expected build a corps of physicians who speak and listen to patients effectively.
“We’re excited to welcome the next generation of physicians. Medical school is challenging, and the role of a physician continues to become more and more complicated. We will inspire these students to be servant leaders, pioneers in medical innovation and patient-and-family-centered providers of care,” said Dr. Stuart D. Flynn, dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine in a press release. “As Empathetic Scholars, they will lead by example in a health care industry that needs their skills and leadership.”
A community vision
The partnership was announced in 2015 to a crowd of more than 500. The project has received much community support because it brings an M.D. program to Tarrant County.
The new M.D. school was a long-sought goal for the health science center, which has been home to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine since 1970. That program will continue to educate D.O.s in Fort Worth.
“I think it is going to be fantastic,” said Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley. “We have such a need for new physicians.”
Whitley said the school will add more medical residents to the area, which will be an asset to Tarrant County. He said often medical residents either end up working where they graduate.
“This will ultimately end up creating new jobs,” Whitley said. “For us, this is just a great opportunity to make sure that we continue to attract and bring physicians to this community.”
Dr. Kevin Kunkler, a professor of medical education, agreed the school will fill an important need.
“It is definitely well known that there is a physician shortage, not just in Texas, throughout the nation, and we believe that through our program, not only will we be able to help support that, but also through our empathetic scholar program, we will be able to provide the community a little bit different type of physician.”
Kunkler said students at the new medical school will have a better understanding of how to communicate, how to relate with patients.
“It is our belief that some of those types of skill sets may have been lost a little bit over the years,” he said.
Students will participate in classes on the TCU and UNTHSC campuses. At the latter, much learning will largely take place on the third and fourth floors of the campus’ Interdisciplinary Research & Education Building, or IREB.
But educators stressed that much of the learning won’t be in a traditional lecture setting.
“When they are here, they are working interactively with teams and they are teaching each other — not in a lecture format,” said Evonne Kaplan-Liss, assistant dean of narrative reflection and patient communication.
The incoming class
The first medical students will be known as Dorman Scholars, in honor of Paul Dorman, chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-based DFB Pharmaceuticals. The Fort Worth businessman is donating the first year of tuition for the first class.
The school’s website lists the tuition and fees cost for the first year as zero. The website states living expenses are $25,000.
The Class of 2023 is made up of 60 students from across the United States, according to the medical school. They represent 34 undergraduate colleges and universities.
The average age of students is 24 and the majority, or 60%, are women.
The class is diverse with 20 percent self identifying as African American or Hispanic/Latino and 10 percent as members of the LGBTQ community.
“The high percentage of students representing diverse background and degrees speaks volumes about our forward-thinking curriculum and admissions process,” said Tara K. Cunningham, associate dean for admissions and student diversity at the medical school.
Cunningham said the physician community should mirror as best possible the diversity reflected in the rest of the community.
About 52 percent of the students come from Texas and the remaining come from about 20 other states, she said.
“We have almost every corner of the country represented in this class,” Cunningham said, adding that some received double majors as undergraduate and at least one is a triple major.
Tapia said it is important to build a sense of welcome for the incoming class.
“Medical students are in a different category because they are here for four intense years pushing themselves to get to the next step in their career,” Tapia said. “We want to make sure they feel welcome to campus and make sure they understand we are here to support them.”
A focus on communication
Patients need a sense of trust to be able to share their personal information with doctors. When trust isn’t reached, a doctor can’t pinpoint patient needs, medical school leaders said.
“Physicians aren’t going to get the information they really need to get in order to treat and make a diagnosis and patients aren’t going to be able to tell their story and feel heard,” explained Kaplan-Liss.
Changing that dynamic is why communication and compassion skills are embedded in the medical school’s curriculum. The medical school has trademarked curriculum called “The Compassionate Practice.” Students learn to be doctors while working on other abilities, including listening, inquiry and engagement.
Studies show that physicians arrive at medical school empathetic, but for a variety of reasons, loose this characteristic, Kaplan-Liss said adding that medical education is much to blame.
Doctors face several constraints in medical school and practice that result in communication barriers between physician and patient, including burn out, navigating a complicated healthcare system, lack of time available to visit with patients and billing.
To bridge communication gaps, students will learn to listen more actively and speak without using jargon, said Valeri Lantz-Gefroh, artistic director of narrative reflection and patient communication for the medical school.
Educators want medical students to be able to recognize when patients feel vulnerable.
“Communication is not just about me and what I say to you, but it’s how we communicate between two. It’s not a one-way street,” Lantz-Grefroh said.
Students will also gain an expert’s voice they can use in talking to communities or the media. There will be a focus on writing so doctors can tackle issues clearly with communities.
“The mission of this medical school is to train — we like to say the first generation or the next generation of empathetic scholars,” Kaplan-Liss said. “What that really means is great doctors who communicate with compassion. You need both.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
