University of North Texas Health Science Center

University of North Texas Health Science Center

Type	Public medical school
Established	1970
Parent institution	University of North Texas system
Accreditation	SACS[1]
Endowment	$217.8 million (2020)[2]
Budget	$266.2 million (2021-22) [3]
President	Michael R. Williams
Academic staff	284 faculty, 46 adjunct[4]
Students	2,329[5]
Location	Fort Worth, Texas , Texas , U.S. 32°44′55″N 97°22′10″W / 32.7486°N 97.3694°W / 32.7486; -97.3694Coordinates: 32°44′55″N 97°22′10″W / 32.7486°N 97.3694°W / 32.7486; -97.3694
Campus	Urban, 33.5 acres (13.6 ha)
Website	www.unthsc.edu

The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC, UNT Health Science Center, or hsc) is a public academic health science center in Fort Worth, Texas. It is part of the University of North Texas System^[6] and was founded in 1970 as the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. UNT Health Science Center now consists of five graduate schools with a total enrollment of 2,329 students (2020–21).

UNT Health Science Center serves as home to several NIH-funded research programs and currently leads all Texas medical and health science centers in research growth.^[6] The Health Science Center also houses laboratories for TECH Fort Worth, a non-profit biochemistry incubator.^[7]

History

Exterior of Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, as it appeared in the 1960s, near the intersection of Mattison and Montgomery Streets.

Exterior of Taverner's Playdium Bowling Alley, as seen from Camp Bowie Blvd, in late 1960s. The building later housed TCOM's classrooms, sciences labs, and administrative offices.

UNT Health Science Center was initially founded in 1970 as the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM). TCOM was the first osteopathic medical school in Texas and remained the only one in the state until 2015, when the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine was established. The college opened as a private, non-profit school for osteopathic medicine and housed on the fifth floor of the Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital. As enrollment increased, the school's need for additional space became evident. In 1971, TCOM students secured ownership of Taverner Bowling Alley,^[8] located next door to the osteopathic hospital, and made appropriate renovations, renaming the structure the "Basic Science Building." This building housed classrooms, basic science laboratories, and administrative offices for the medical school until demolition in 1975.

In 1975, the college became a part of North Texas State University, after the Texas Legislature overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 216, making TCOM a state medical school.^[9][10] TCOM was the second public university-affiliated osteopathic medical school to be established.^[9] With university-appropriated funding, the school broke ground on several of the original buildings which now comprise the 33-acre campus.^[6]

In 1990, TCOM opened the DNA Identity Laboratory, with the responsibility of assisting the state of Texas in evaluating paternity cases. In 1993, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences opened, and TCOM was renamed the University of North Texas Health Science Center. In 1997, the UNT School of Health Professions opened a physician assistant program. In 1999, the School of Public Health opened. In 2008, UNTHSC opened the TECH Fort Worth Acceleration Lab.^[7] In 2009, the UNTHSC opened a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and PhD in Public Health Studies degree program's.

In 2011, the Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of a college of pharmacy at UNTHSC.^[11] As the first pharmacy school in North Texas,^[6] the college matriculated its inaugural class of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in 2013.^[12][13] In 2013, UNTHSC began developing an interprofessional education (IPE) program, in participation with Texas Christian University (TCU). In 2014, Texas Woman's University joined the IPE partnership. In 2015, UNTHSC and TCU announced the creation of a joint MD school, which began matriculating students in 2018.^[14][15] TCU maintained accredition as the degree-granting institution, with faculty and staff employed by the university, while under joint operation and governance with UNTHSC on the university's campus. On January 12, 2022, TCU and UNTHSC announced the end of their joint partnership of TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, with TCU solely responsible for the operation and governance of the renamed TCU School of Medicine.^[16]

In 2022, UNT Health Science Center's Physician Assistant, Health Care Management, Public Health, and Physical Therapy programs were ranked #33, #65, #90, and #97, respectively, by U.S. News and World Report.^[17] The publication also ranks Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine #57 for primary care and #93 for biomedical research amongst the 129 U.S. medical schools participating in its 2022 rankings.

Community and school outreach programs include Fort Worth's annual Hispanic Wellness Fair and the annual Cowtown Marathon. HSC launched Fort Worth’s first Mobile Pediatric Clinic in 2013 to deliver health care to children living in underserved parts of the city. ^[18] In 2020, HSC Fort Worth helped lead the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Texas, opening two drive-through testing centers, assisting in contact tracing, educating the public with fact-based health and safety information and working to protect underserved and at-risk communities. ^[19]

Academics

UNT Health Science Center is governed by the University of North Texas Board of Regents. Through its five degree-granting schools, the health science center offers doctorate-, masters- and bachelors-level programs focusing on health care delivery and biomedical science. In order to promote and encourage interprofessional learning, the health science center utilizes an interprofessional education (IPE) model that brings together students from its various colleges and schools. Doctoral degrees offered include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD).

Master's degrees include Master of Science, Master of Health Administration, and Master of Physician Assistant Studies. In 2021, SBS received preliminary accreditation from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer an online bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. With the initial cohort slated to begin in fall 2023, this will be the first undergraduate health program at UNT Health Science Center.

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), the first degree-granting graduate school at UNT Health Science Center, was founded in 1970. It is a public medical school and the first osteopathic medical school in Texas. As a primary care-oriented school, TCOM trains and graduates the eighth largest number of medical students entering general practice fields in the United States.^[22] At $13,079 for Texas residents, TCOM boasts the lowest annual tuition cost during the 2021-22 school year when compared to annual tuition at all other osteopathic medical schools in the country. Tuition is also the cheapest for in-state medical students when compared to annual tuition at all other medical schools, whether osteopathic or allopathic, in Texas.^[23]

In September 2018, TCOM was granted a 10-year Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome, the highest level of accreditation given by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). Since this time, only 4 other Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have achieved the same accreditation level.^[24]

Medical curriculum

TCOM's medical curriculum consists of two years of pre-clinical studies and two years of clinical rotations. The first year consists of introductory basic science (e.g. anatomy, biochemistry, genetics, and immunology) integrated with physiologic processes structured by body system (cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, musculoskeletal, renal, neurologic, and endocrine). During this time, students also learn physical examination, doctor-patient interactions, and the principles of osteopathic, palpatory diagnosis and manipulative therapy. After learning the physiologic foundations during the first year, the second-year curriculum shifts focus to disease processes and pathology, which are also organized by body system.^[25] TCOM's systems-based, two-pass preclinical curriculum, piloted by Bruce Dubin, DO, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, has remained the same since conception in 2010 and is now widely replicated at sister osteopathic medical schools (e.g. RVUCOM, KCUMB-COM, etc).

After the first two years, medical students are assigned a third year base site for third year clinical rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, psychiatry, and pediatrics. While most students elect to rotate through TCOM's primary teaching hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, students may instead choose to relocate to Corpus Christi, Longview, Conroe, or Weatherford, where they spend the year rotating through satellite teaching sites.^[26]

COMLEX Board Scores

TCOM's medical students achieved the highest exam score average, in comparison to students from all other osteopathic medical schools, on their COMLEX Level 1 national board exam in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Level 1, an osteopathic equivalent to the USMLE Step 1 exam, is the first of three exams required for board certification of osteopathic physicians from U.S. medical schools granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. ^[27] Tuition fees cover a 6-month subscription to USMLE World ("UWorld") test bank questions, which students utilize in tandem with second-year studies to prepare for USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 board exams.

Teaching hospitals

Major TCOM Teaching Hospitals

• 
  John Peter Smith Hospital
• 
  Cook Children's Medical Center
• 
  Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth

Primary teaching hospitals

• JPS Health Network in Fort Worth – The primary teaching institution of Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM). Anchored by a 578-bed acute care hospital, the network includes more than 25 community-based clinics. John Peter Smith Hospital is home to Tarrant County's first and only Level I Trauma Center and its only psychiatric emergency services site, which is also the second-busiest psychiatric ER in the country.
• Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth – The primary pediatric teaching institution for TCOM, this hospital is licensed for 430 beds and is one of the largest freestanding pediatric medical centers in the U.S. The hospital also has an ACS verified level II pediatric trauma center.
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth – One of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems in the US and the largest in North Texas in terms of inpatients and outpatients served. Awarded the highest advanced certification by The Joint Commission as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, the 726-bed hospital is the first in the country to earn the prestigious designation as a Joint Commission Primary Heart Attack Center.
• Methodist Dallas Medical Center in Dallas – Methodist Dallas Hospital is home to one of three Level 1 Trauma Centers in Dallas County and to a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Awarded a Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, Methodist Dallas Medical Center provides health services to more than 175,000 patients per year.
• Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi – Driscoll Children's Hospital is a 191-bed pediatric tertiary care center with more than 30 medical and surgical specialties offering care throughout South Texas, including Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, Victoria, and Laredo. The hospital remains the only free-standing children's hospital in South Texas. In 2020, Driscoll had almost 122,000 patient visits, including almost 28,000 patients seen at South Texas’ first emergency room created exclusively for children.
• Medical City Fort Worth and Medical City Dallas – Medical City Fort Worth and Medical City Dallas are 2 of 10 Medical City Healthcare Hospitals to be recognized with an "A" Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in 2021. The former is licensed for 348 beds; the latter, 668 beds. Part of the Texas Stroke Institute's Stroke Care Network, the hospitals are designated Comprehensive Stroke Centers and Joint Commission-certified chest pain centers.

Daeyung Luke Hospital is a 300-bed hospital located in Malawi and serviced year-round by UNTHSC physicians.

Satellite campuses

• Medical City Weatherford (Weatherford, TX)
• CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi - Shoreline and Corpus Christi Medical Center (Corpus Christi, TX)
• HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe (Conroe, TX)
• Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center - Longview (Longview, TX)

Affiliated foreign teaching hospitals

• Daeyang Luke Hospital, Malawi
• School of Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand
• Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand

Admissions

The admissions process is streamlined through Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS), whereby applicants are ranked by schools at which they interview and then "matched" for final placement to a single Texas medical school of their highest preference. ^[28] Thirteen other medical schools in Texas participate in TMDSAS, including UT Southwestern Medical School and Baylor College of Medicine.

ROME Rural Scholars Program

TCOM's Rural Osteopathic Medical Education ("ROME") Rural Scholars Program is an innovative educational program designed to prepare medical students for clinical practice in the rural, underserved setting. In addition to completing regular courses in preclinical medicine during their first two years of school, ROME Scholars have additional course requirements pertinent to their curricular focus in rural or international medicine. Core clinical rotations during third year are designed to provide focused training in the rural setting through assignments at designated rural-based training sites located throughout Texas or at affiliated hospitals in Malawi and Thailand.^[29]

Dual degree programs

TCOM also offers the following dual degree programs: B.A./D.O.^[30], D.O./M.P.H., D.O./M.S., and D.O./Ph.D.^[31][32]

Through the HSC Scholars in Cancer Research Program, DO/PhD students are able to pursue in-depth, mentored biomedical research training in oncological studies. Scholars enrolled in this program are supported with a stipend (up to $28,000 per year) and travel support (up to $1,000 per year) for up to 3 years. Tuition for medical school is fully covered as well.^[33]

Rankings

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was continuously ranked in the top 50 for primary care from 2002 through 2014 culminating at #26 in 2012. As of 2022, the school ranks #57 for primary care and #93 for research by U.S. News and World Report.^[34]

In an annual report by George W. Bush Institute (2020), TCOM is ranked #1 amongst U.S. medical schools for innovation impact productivity, a measure of how well an institution converts research inputs (e.g. research spending) into patents, licenses, startups, widely cited papers, and graduates.^[35] The Institute ranks UNTHSC-TCOM as the most productive U.S. medical school in impacting its local economy and society through innovation.^[36]

Graduate medical education

TCOM offers many residency training programs and fellowship training programs at affiliated training institutions, including John Peter Smith Hospital and Driscoll Children's Hospital.^[37] In partnership with UNTHSC Texas Center for Performing Arts Health, the medical school also offers the nation's first fellowship training program in Performing Arts Medicine.^[38]

HSC Health

HSC Health is a division of the university where faculty members provide health care services. HSC Health consists of 84 clinicians ^[39] practicing at 13 different, Dallas/Fort Worth-based clinics, including the HSC Health Pavillion, located on the medical school's main campus. Clinicians range from a variety of medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties, including audiology, allergy/immunology, family practice, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, optometry, osteopathic manipulative treatment, pediatrics, physiatry, psychiatry, speech language pathology, and sports medicine.

Campus

The Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building (IREB) houses the UNT System College of Pharmacy, TCU School of Medicine, and several research labs.

UNT Health Science Center's campus has steadily grown from a few offices on the fifth floor of the Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital into a 33.5-acre campus with 20 buildings and two parking garages. Supported by state funds and private donations, TCOM purchased land east of the osteopathic hospital along Camp Bowie Boulevard in 1972 to form a permanent campus. The first master plan was crafted in 1972, creating a vision for these sites which included an academic building immediately east of the osteopathic hospital, which was connected to a library, student union, and student housing. The Health Pavilion (HP) opened in 1997, significantly increasing the number of clinical patient visits on campus. Today, UNT Health Science Center is located on a 33.5-acre campus in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas.^[6] Within a three mile radius from campus, there are four major hospitals concentrated into what is known as the Fort Worth Medical Center.

The 2007 Campus Master Plan undertook an in-depth consideration of elements, both historical and forecasted, to craft an institutional vision for future campus development. One of the most visible results of the plan the demolition of Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital and its subsequent replacement with the Medical Education & Training Building (MET), the new academic center of campus. The 2007 plan also identified the construction site for the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building (IREB), which opened in 2018.^[42] The newest Campus Master Plan, in 2018, shows the potential, at full build-out, for over 2.3 million GSF of space.^[43]

The Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library's collections, including more than 20,000 journal titles and 67,000 books, provide HSC students and faculty with access to the latest basic science and clinical research. The Lewis Library provides access to nearly all of the world's current medical information, including a wide variety of research databases.^[44] HSC also houses the Atrium Gallery, a non-profit public art exhibition space, which holds 8-10 arts shows each year.^[45] The Atrium Gallery is a member of the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association.^[45]

Student life

A total of 2,329 students were in attendance at UNTHSC for the 2020-21 academic year.^[4][5] 62% of students were female; 38 percent were male.^[4] About 41% of students are White, 29% Asian, 15% Hispanic, and 8% Black. Because of state law regarding enrollment of Texas residents in public medical schools, each entering class is composed of at least 90% state residents. Before 2022, TCOM was the only Texas public medical school to grant admission to undocumented persons (Non-Resident Aliens), including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") recipients. As of Entry Year 2022 admission, only U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents are considered for admission.^[46]

During 2021-22, UNTHSC has 157 registered student organizations (RSOs), the largest of which are Pediatrics Club, Emergency Medicine Interest Group, and American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. Other popular or niche student groups include Christian Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology (Oncology Student Interest Group), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Ally Alliance. In order to receive funding from student service fees, all student organizations are recognized as official organizations and are required to adopt a risk management policy (due to Texas House Bill 2639), which are reviewed and approved by the Office of Student Development.

Research

HSC's biomedical science research laboratories are housed in either the Center for BioHealth (CBH; seen above) or Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building (IREB).

UNT Health Science Center has a total research expenditure of $79.1 million in fiscal year 2022, of which $53.1 million is federally sourced.^[47] Areas of research strength include population health, health disparities, ophthalmology, forensics, and healthy aging.

The Center for Human Identification's accredited forensic laboratory provides genetic and anthropological examinations for criminal casework and missing persons identification, local CODIS operations, and development. At North Texas Eye Research Institute (NTERI), which opened in 1992, scientists conduct investigate novel therapies for ophthalmologic disorders affecting patients in general as well as those from minority patient populations. At the Center for Health Disparities, scientists conduct prevention and outcomes research in areas such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, stroke, and HIV.

In 2018, HSC founded the Institute for Translational Research with the goal of translating basic science into treatments and new procedures for Alzheimer’s and other diseases. The Institute received a $45 million grant in 2020 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to examine the biological differences that cause Alzheimer’s disease to disproportionately afflict Mexican Americans.^[48] The Institute also received a $50 million award in 2020 from NIH to lead the coordinating center for the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) program. The goal of AIM-AHEAD is building and advancing AI/ML approaches using EHR and other types of data (e.g., genomics, imaging, social determinants of health) to redress health disparities and advance health equity.^[49] Taken together, these are the largest research grants ever awarded in the same year to UNT Health Science Center.

Notable alumni, faculty and staff

• Ronald R. Blanck, former UNTHSC president; current chairman of the board of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
• Michael Carletti, flight surgeon for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds")^[51]
• Rob Dickerman, DO/PhD-neurosurgeon
• Scott Ransom, former UNTHSC president; current Partner in the Health & Life Sciences Advisory at Oliver Wyman
• Paul S. Saenz, DO, team physician for the San Antonio Spurs.
• J. D. Sheffield, physician in Gatesville, Texas and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 59 in Coryell County^[52]
• David Siderovski, current Chair of UNTHSC Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience.
• Michael R. Williams, current UNTHSC president^[53][54]
• Irvin Zeitler, past president of the Texas Medical Board^[55]
• TeCora Ballom, DO MPH MSHI, United States Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, United States Public Health Service^[56]

References

Further reading

• Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine: The First Twenty Years, C. Ray Stokes (Editor), February 1991, paperback, University of North Texas Press, ISBN 0-929398-17-3

External links

• Official website