Making Room for More Physicians (continued)

By Darla Brown

Keeping it competitive

Will offering more positions at medical schools make admissions less competitive?

"Not at all as medical school applications have continued to increase," says Judianne Kellaway, M.D., '87, assistant dean of admissions. "Nationwide, more young people have been applying to medical school, and it is a trend that is going to continue."

And the competition is stiff – last year for the 4,000 applicants in the state of Texas, there were only 1,300 spots at state medical schools.

"We get a very strong caliber of applicant; however, today there are more decent applicants who will not get a spot in a medical school," Dr. Kellaway explains. "Even though the number of positions is increasing, there is still not enough room for the number of qualified applicants. It remains very competitive."

And the UT Medical School at Houston knows competition.

"We get more applicants than any of the other medical schools in Texas," Dr. Kellaway adds. "So, if anyone applies to the Texas medical schools, chances are, they are checking our box. This is one more example of how our reputation as an institution for high-quality medical education is growing."

One challenge to growing the class size and remaining competitive in admissions is the ability to offer scholarships.

UT Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., has committed funds to increase scholarships, which will help the Medical School retain its competitive edge when it comes to attracting qualified students who get offers from myriad schools.

Alumni and other friends have contributed to interim Dean Wolinsky's call for support of student scholarships. However, the numbers of scholarships that the Medical School offers are still low in comparison to other medical schools.

More instructors

More students mean more faculty. To meet the demand of teaching – both in the classroom and in the clinical setting, new faculty have been recruited to the Medical School.

Six clinical faculty have been recruited to the Department of Internal Medicine, and an additional four faculty are being recruited to this department, according to Dr. Butler. Two faculty have been recruited to the Department of Pediatrics, and over the next six years, 30 basic science faculty will be added to the ranks as the Replacement Research Facility goes on line.

"We have been successful in faculty recruitment and are able to add these educators primarily from support from the state," she says. "In addition, Dean Wolinsky has provided resources for the recruitment of faculty with expertise in medical education, each of whom will be devoting significant effort to the education program."

Besides the new faculty, a new division, the Division of Geriatric Medicine, has been created to meet the demand of both increased class sizes and aging Baby Boomers.

"Two faculty have already been recruited to this division and four more are in process," Dr. Butler says.

Relaying classroom teaching in a clinical setting is key to a medical education, and Dr. Butler says that patient volume is sufficient at all affiliated hospitals. The patient numbers at each major teaching hospital were carefully examined to assure adequate patient volume for the students' clinical education. "In fact, our students cite patient volume and diversity as one of the strengths of their education here," she says.

Clinical care goes high tech

Making the clinical years a fundamental experience with a larger class size is something that Mark Hormann, M.D., third-year clinical clerkship director for pediatrics, is already experienced with – but not with UT students yet.

"The concern is that we won't have enough physical space with more students, but we already had a dry run with the influx of the Tulane students a couple of years ago, so I don't think it will be a problem," Dr. Hormann says.

He adds that the physical expansion of Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital will help as does the high patient volume in the Texas Medical Center.

"We need to make sure we maintain our outpatient clinical sites and that our students are able to get a good experience there," he adds.

In order to supplement the clinical experience, the pediatric department has gone high-tech with CLIPP – a Web-based multimedia program that will be implemented at the start of the next clerkship this summer.

"This program offers 31 detailed pediatric cases. Each case will take the students 30 minutes to one hour to complete, and the system asks the students questions about different diagnoses and patient management – it's not just reading but involves images and video. Patient care can't go away, but this new format offers an adjunct to the clerkship experience," he explains.

The SCSC connection

The Medical School also has been able to meet the education demands of a larger student body through new technology ushered in by the unveiling of the Surgical and Clinical Skills Center last fall.

"Through the practice of standardized and clinical skills in this setting, students are able to learn and hone these techniques in a controlled environment without practicing on the very sick patients that we often see in hospitals these days," Dr. Butler explains.

Robotics and high-tech tools that the SCSC provides also allow students to train on routine and complex procedures in large and small groups – and through the standardized patient program.

Getting the green light

The Liaison Committee for Medical Education, the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs, evaluates all requests by medical schools to increase class sizes and primarily looks at facilities, applicants, clinical volume, student services, and number of faculty to determine if an increase is allowed.

"We were visited by an LCME team in March in response to our request for an increase in medical student class size," says interim Dean Wolinsky. "While a formal response will not be forthcoming until June, the review team indicated that the response will be very positive. Overall they were very impressed with the steps that had been taken to ensure that the planned 15 percent increase in our medical student body will not result in enrolling less qualified students or limiting their educational and clinical experience."

More students mean more physicians, which will ensure we can all rest a bit easier knowing a UT Medical School alumnus will be there when we need them.