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M.D. program push at UNTHSC sends wrong message the area for their
Tayson DeLengocky accomplishments in
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The recent public hearing at University

of North Texas Health Science Center, regarding the proposal to add an M.D.
degree to UNTHSC, clearly showed a passion for heritage among the osteopathic Recently Most Most
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community and an acknowledgement of the prestige of an M.D. degree among local
business and hospital leaders. Proponents argued that such a degree program • Scobee family
would bring status and research funding.
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Despite the consensus that the Texas Arlington Decrease
College of Osteopathic College (TCOM) represents success, it is ironic that the • Letters: The Don
proponents of the M.D. program are willing to waste resources by duplicating a • Neighborhood group releases
parallel program to produce M.D.s instead of osteopathic physicians. An M.D.
school will cost millions of dollars in salaries and perks for duplicating new pipeline report
deans and department heads in order to serve the same purpose. This is absolute
nonsense in business and purely discriminatory towards the osteopathic
community.

M.D.s and D.O.s are all physicians. All

are accountable to the same standards of medical care.

TCOM students are as qualified as any

other allopathic medical students in Texas. According to the Texas Medical
& Dental Schools Application Service, the TCOM class of 2009 saw average
MCAT scores and GPAs of 28.3 and 3.60, respectively. Incidentally, these
numbers placed TCOM class above the admitting classes of 2009 from University
of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and Texas A&M University
Health Science Center.

It is a fallacy that the osteopathic

profession does not train its students in research. UNTHSC and six other
colleges of osteopathic medicine have established dual D.O./Ph.D.
physician-scientist training programs to prepare students to perform research.
The osteopathic institutions received over $100 million in research funding in
2004. UNTHSC's research funding achieved its record high with $32 million in
2008.

Yes, these numbers are small. Most M.D.s

and D.O.s are first and foremost clinicians. In 2007, only 500 out of 17,361
M.D. students (2 percent) chose the M.D./Ph.D. pathway because they wanted to
pursue academic careers. Historically, only 25 percent of M.D./Ph.D. graduates
actually perform research. Most allopathic institutions harvest more research
funding from their strong graduate programs in the biomedical sciences.

D.O.s have staff privileges and serve the

community well at all the local hospitals, such as JPS Health Network, Harris
Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, Cook Children's Medical Center and Plaza Medical
Center. TCOM students are performing clerkships at these hospitals under the
tutelage of M.D. preceptors.
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It is the responsibility of local S M T W T F S
hospitals in Tarrant County, receiving the taxpayers' money, to form
affiliations with TCOM to create Graduate Medical Education (GME); TCOM 1 2
students are well-qualified students and the community deserves it. New GME 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16

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training for osteopathic graduates provides high quality and affordable talent 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
and brings GME funding from Medicare to the hospitals. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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TCOM, a full-fledged state-sponsored

medical school, has produced more primary-care physicians than any allopathic
school in Texas. Its graduates practice in under-served areas. TCOM's model
deserves state recognition for its contributions to the care of its citizens.
The osteopathic philosophy of holistic and preventive care brings a positive
attribute to health-care systems. Texans and Americans deserve a true system of
health care instead of a system of fixing diseases. UNT and medical educators,
and local and state leaders, should take a stand against prejudice — not coerce
D.O.s to change their titles to M.D. in exchange for educational opportunity.

Furthermore, UNTHSC should invest its

resources in partnerships with other hospitals to create new GME sites, which
can be dually accredited by the American Osteopathic Association and the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. What are the odds that a
new M.D. school would rival the well-established UT-Southwestern or Baylor
Medical School?

An enhancement of TCOM's uniqueness will

take it to the national level more efficiently. Dr. Scott Ransom, president of
UNTHSC, with his ties to Michigan, is well placed to know the success of the
College of Osteopathic Medicine in that state. There, the school has secured
2,092 GME positions in 29 hospitals for D.O.s. TCOM should be able to achieve
similar results: There are 4,978 D.O.s practicing in Michigan, compared with
3,346 D.O.s practicing in Texas.

If proponents still want build a M.D.

school in Fort Worth, whether in a desire for prestige or out of prejudice
against TCOM, then let them raise hundreds of millions of dollars rather than
take money from the taxpayers. The time has come for the local medical
community to unite in training its future physicians to serve the general
public.
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Tayson DeLengocky is a D.O. with a

vitreo-retinal surgery practice in Corpus Christi.
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