Category Archives: Medical School

As a University of Texas graduate and former Chairman of the UT Board of Regents, I want the best for the people of Austin and Central Texas. The best teachers and researchers, the best education and training, the best center for technology development and entrepreneurial activity and certainly the best health care for the people of Travis County.

This is why I support Proposition One. It will greatly expand the community of bio scientists and biomedical researchers who search for cures and it will provide a world-class medical education for a new generation of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals who will take those research discoveries directly to bedsides in Austin hospitals and clinics.

Proposition One will also strengthen the health environment of a growing city that supports wellness and healthy lifestyles, both for its adults and its children, and will provide for a crucial safety net for the thousands of uninsured and under-insured people across Central Texas. Having a teaching hospital in your community ensures more access to healthcare. In fact, nationwide, teaching hospitals provide 71 percent of charity care, though they make up only 22 percent of all U.S. hospitals.

There is also a major economic incentive to support Proposition One. Implementing this initiative will create an estimated 15,400 jobs in the Austin area. Ray Perryman, an influential and respected economist with a global reputation, calls this a once-in-a-generation opportunity that can positively redefine the future of Austin. Not incidentally, those new jobs will be in health-related fields, which every employment indicator says are the most secure career choices now and in the near future, as a large aging population begins to require more medical attention.

I live and work in Dallas now, but I spent three decades in Austin and it will always be close to my heart. A medical school and teaching hospital will help both UT and the city it calls home grow in reputation on a national scale.

But I also have personal reasons for supporting Proposition One. This isnt just about UT Austin though the UT System Board of Regents believes its important enough that the System is investing $290 million in it over the next decade and UT Austin will also make a multimillion investment. Its about what this partnership will mean for the people of Austin and those across Central Texas who come here for their health care.

Some of my Austin friends have had to travel to other cities in Texas to receive the level of treatment they needed. I have seen the benefits and impact of a local medical school like UT Southwestern Medical Center and its collaborative relationship with Dallas hospitals. A new medical school and teaching hospital in Austin will create greater medical expertise in Travis County and provide exceptional health care that will keep Austinites at home, where they prefer to be for diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. People shouldnt have to wait for months for an appointment with a specialist or travel far from home to get the help they need and that happens far too often now.

Leaders in the UT System and UT Austin and members of the UT System Board of Regents have been working diligently for eight years to make this medical school possible. I served on the Board of Regents from 2003 to 2010 and have seen the dedication to this mission firsthand. Senator Kirk Watson has been tireless and admirable in his vision and leadership. I applaud him and the many supporters at UT, Seton, and the Austin community for taking this crucial step forward to improve health care and medical education in Central Texas. The time is now to make this noble vision a reality.

Critics of Proposition One have misrepresented the tax increase to win an argument. Even with the nickel increase that Proposition 1 calls for, Central Healths tax rate will only be 4.5 percent of the property taxes paid by homeowners. It will boost the average bill by just nine dollars a month. For those nine dollars, the citizens of Austin and Travis County have an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give themselves and their children and grandchildren the ultimate gift of outstanding health care in the city they love.

For$9 dollars a month, you will add another dimension of excellence to Austin and at the same time comfort the sick and save lives. Its a proposition worth supporting

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Huffines: Medical school will benefit Austin and Texas

The medical school is expanding its health and wellness offerings this fall to help students endure four taxing years of academics and hospital rotations.

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences added workout gear like hula hoops and dumbbells to its library and began offering Zumba, yoga and cooking classes to de-stress students faced with shrinking residency opportunities nationwide.

The wellness initiative precludes the schools community health committee, which will meet for the first time this week. The committee will look for pathways to incorporate physical, mental and spiritual health into the medical school's curriculum, including potential courses that could be added in time for the schools broader curriculum overhaul next year.

But yanking students away from studying slides and lab notes to take time for themselves is a challenge, Christina Puchalski, director of the GW Institute for Spirituality and Health, said.

About 50 students so far have participated in classes or sessions in exercise or health offered by the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, the library reported.

If youre a student and you have to pass a certain number of exams, that will take priority over taking care of yourself. Unless you can see that taking care of yourself will help you overall, Puchalski, who sits on the committee, said.

Alexandra Gomes, associate director of the library, said the library has for years seen pressure mounting for students, particularly around exams.

Students set up camp in the library as we get closer to the end of the semester and the exams, and you can see the pressure build up in the students, Gomes said.

The administration is also spending more on health and wellness. Linda Lang, an instructor, has taught yoga classes for two years and said this is the first year she is a paid staff member.

Last year was the first time the yoga course was offered as a 1.5-credit elective that included nearly three dozen students.

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Medical school expands stress relief programs

Students who transfer from one undergraduate college to another--or who transfer between multiple institutions--may hurt their medical school admissions chances. That's according to a September 2012 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which administers the MCAT.

Of the 31,479 M.D. applicants surveyed in 2011, students who went to only one college were admitted to medical school at a rate of 52.3 percent, compared with 35.6 percent for those who attended five or more institutions. The average MCAT score for students who attended one college was 29.1 (out of 45 points), while students who went to five or more schools scored 26.9 on average.

Among the respondents, 38.9 percent attended just one college, and 36.2 had two college transcripts, according to the report. Much smaller percentages of students attended three, four, or five or more schools: 16.6, 5.7, and 2.6 percent, respectively.

For the 61.1 percent of applicants who attended at least two colleges, the AAMC found that "multi-institutional attendance is associated with both lower mean MCAT exam scores and acceptance rates to medical school."

[For admissions tips, check out the Medical School Admissions Doctor blog.]

Although most references to transfer students on medical school websites are targeted at students wishing to switch from one medical school to another, some offer guidance for undergraduates.

Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine, for instance, advises applicants to request at least one letter of recommendation from a faculty member at each school they attended. Barry University's School of Podiatric Medicine makes an exception for its dual MBA and doctor of pediatric medicine program and only applies its minimum 3.25 GPA requirement to transfer students' last 30 credit hours.

And Florida State University's College of Medicine cautions students not to split two-semester courses--such as organic chemistry I and II--between two colleges, although it doesn't explain why it offers that advice.

Ultimately, the AAMC study stresses that the number of undergraduate institutions that students attended was less important than the type of school, particularly given variations in resources, premedical educational programs, and other offerings.

[Check out the colleges with the most transfer students.]

Read more:
Study: College Transfer Students May Have Trouble Getting Into Med School

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

According to Kaplan Test Preps 2012 survey of medical school admissions officers*, the vastly revamped MCAT set to launch in 2015 has the strong support of an important segment of the medical education community. Nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) medical school admissions officers support the changes to the MCAT, while only 1% dont support the changes; 12% arent sure. Similarly, 74% of admissions officers say the 2015 MCAT will better prepare aspiring doctors for medical school; just 5% say it wont; and 21% arent sure of what its effects will mean.

The Association of American Medical Colleges the governing body of all accredited U.S. and accredited Canadian allopathic medical schools formally approved major content changes to the MCAT earlier this year, and includes the addition of behavioral and social sciences, advanced science concepts in biochemistry, and expanded critical thinking. While the writing section will be eliminated in 2013, the additional content will make the 2015 MCAT over an hour longer than the current one going from 5 hours to about 7 hours.

But while medical school admissions officers think the 2015 MCAT will produce stronger medical students, many also believe the road to medical school may become more intense for pre-meds. 40% say that pre-meds course loads will increase because of the additional content they will have to learn as undergrads; 46% say their course loads will stay at about their current levels; and 15% arent sure. No admissions officers say pre-meds course loads will become easier. Many pre-med programs have already revised their curricula or are in the process of doing so to ensure that students particularly freshmen and sophomores are prepared to tackle the exams new content come 2015.

We agree with medical school admissions officers that the MCAT changes are needed and beneficial, as todays medicine includes scientific advances that didnt exist a generation ago, and doctors are increasingly serving a more diverse population, said Amjed Saffarini, vice president of graduate programs, Kaplan Test Prep. The new exam content will not only be more difficult than the current one, but the road to get there will also be more challenging since pre-med students will need to learn significantly more material within the same amount of time a potentially daunting, but achievable hurdle for this highly motivated group.

Other key results from Kaplans 2012 survey of medical school admissions officers:

In 2012, more than 45,000 aspiring doctors applied to medical school, a 3.1% increase over 2011.

For more information about Kaplan Test Preps 2012 survey of medical school admissions officers, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

* For the 2012 survey, 75 medical school admissions officers from the 141 Association of American Medical Colleges across the United States were polled by telephone between August and September 2012.

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Kaplan Test Prep Survey: Medical Schools Think the New 2015 MCAT Will Be Good Medicine for Shaping Tomorrow’s Doctors ...

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