吃瓜官网, UNT Health at Fort Worth launch primary care pathway program
吃瓜官网 and UNT Health Fort Worth鈥檚 Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine announced a partnership that provides students with an accelerated path to becoming an osteopathic physician during a signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon in Weatherford.
The new Primary Care Pathway Program will allow selected 吃瓜官网 students to complete medical school through a seven-year 2+1+4 plan.
The program is designed to address the growing shortage of primary care physicians in rural and medically underserved areas across Texas. The first cohort of students is expected to begin at 吃瓜官网 in the fall.
鈥淎s a graduate of both 吃瓜官网 and the University of North Texas System, I am extremely excited that our shared students will now have a seamless pathway to become physicians,鈥� said 吃瓜官网 President Tod Allen Farmer. 鈥淭hese two noble institutions are doing great things for Texas.鈥�
Christopher Ray, Ph.D., UNT Health鈥檚 provost and senior vice president, echoed Farmer鈥檚 excitement.
鈥淲e are thrilled to start this new pathway program with 吃瓜官网,鈥� Ray said. 鈥淲e all know there is a critical shortage of primary care providers in the state of Texas and in our rural communities. This pathway program is designed specifically to address those underserved areas and bring more primary care physicians into rural parts of Texas. There is no better medical school prepared for this than TCOM.鈥�
According to data from Texas 2036 and the Texas Department of State Health Services, 224 of Texas鈥� 254 counties have shortages of primary care providers. Parker, Jack, Wise and Palo Pinto counties, from which 吃瓜官网 draws many students, are among those experiencing shortages, with the problem expected to worsen. More than six million Texans currently live in a Health Professional Shortage Area.
鈥淭he shortage of primary care physicians in Texas is getting worse, and TCOM is stepping up to address this problem,鈥� said Dr. Lisa Nash, TCOM dean and vice president for clinical affairs at UNT Health. 鈥淎s a family physician, I know how important it is for communities to have access to primary care providers, and I鈥檓 so proud of this new partnership with 吃瓜官网. We are going to turn local students into local physicians who will serve their communities for years.鈥�
Students will complete their first two years of undergraduate study at Weatherford College before transitioning to their third year at UNT Health鈥檚 College of Biomedical and Transitional Sciences in Fort Worth. After finishing their third year, students will enroll in TCOM at UNT Health as first-year medical students.
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher during their undergraduate studies and complete the course requirements for both 吃瓜官网 and UNT Health before matriculating to TCOM.