UNT Board of Regents votes to continue planning MD program
The University of North Texas System Board of Regents voted today to continue planning for a new allopathic medical school at the UNT Health Science Center campus in Fort Worth.
The campus, which already is home to one medical school, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, could potentially host a new medical school that will grant an MD degree in addition to the current doctor of osteopathy degree, or DO degree, currently offered through TCOM.
No one on the board spoke in opposition of the vote, which was only to grant permission to continue planning an MD program. The vote from the board on whether or not to approve the offering of an MD degree is expected to come next year.
Various officials from the Health Science Center, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and community groups came together to speak either on behalf or opposed to the idea of an MD school. Representatives from the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association spoke out against the proposal.
“You don’t need it, you can’t afford it and it’s not the right thing to do,” said John Crosby, executive director of the AOA.
He and other osteopathic representatives questioned why the Health Science Center leadership couldn’t devote the time and funds it has put into exploring an MD option into expanding TCOM further.
Dr. Scott Ransom, president of the Health Science Center and himself a DO, said the leadership is committed to growing TCOM as well as other programs on the campus, such as a physician assistant school and programs for therapists, researchers and public health professionals, among others. He encouraged the board to continue developing an MD school in order to increase the physician population in Fort Worth, meet the growing needs of the community, and nail down learning opportunities for DO and MD students in area hospitals.
Ransom also said developing an MD school offers better access to care to the community and would encourage economic growth as more research dollars came in and more students and faculty came to the campus. He told the board and audience – which continued to grow as the meeting went on – that the UNT Health Science Center and the UNT System should be focused on the end goal of providing care to patients.
“We are more than a school,"” he said. “We are a mission.”
Find out more information on the meeting in the Nov. 30 issue of the Fort Worth Business Press or on Twitter by searching the tag #UNTMD.
