Medical school opens this fall, expands programs to provide students opportunities

Medical school opens this fall, expands programs to provide students opportunities

By Rob Heidrick Friday, 05 June 2009

Round Rock medical students expected to help address the region’s healthcare needs

The Texas A&M Health Science Center will mark the second year of its Round Rock program this fall with the opening of the first building on its new campus. The school also plans to expand its partnerships with local clinics, allowing incoming classes to work more closely with patients in need of special care. Dr. Kathryn Kotrla, associate dean of the Health Science Center’s Round Rock campus, said the school hopes to build upon existing relationships with local hospitals and community health centers such as the Lone Star Circle of Care, a nonprofit healthcare organization that provides medical care to uninsured and under-insured patients.

The Health Science Center’s affiliation with LSCC, which oversees clinical rotations for third-year medical students at the Round Rock campus, will likely serve as a model for future programs, Kotrla said. The partnership is expected to evolve this year to provide more opportunities for students to work with geriatric clinics, veterans’ hospitals and inpatient facilities such as the Austin State Hospital.

“This is a way for our students to get involved in the community, to see how the community functions and to directly give back to their communities and their patients,” Kotrla said. “There are a lot of opportunities there for seeing our white coats out in the community, so we’re looking to develop that more in the next year.”

The building opening on the new campus was designed to further immerse students into LSCC programs, with a public health clinic operating among classrooms and training labs. The clinic will include four departments — behavioral health, OB-GYN, pediatrics and primary care — and a pharmacy in the facility.

Returning students also hope to organize outreach efforts such as community vaccinations and student-run clinics similar to those currently in place at campuses in Temple and College Station, said third-year student Liz Scherer.

“It’s great to do something that’s such a big part of the community, and it’s a great way to use your skills,” Scherer said. “That’s a pretty strong tradition at A&M, and I’m certain that students will bring it to the Round Rock community as the student population grows.”

‘Meducation’ corridor

Round Rock emerged as a hub for health education with the influx of new hospitals in recent years, beginning with the opening of Scott & White Healthcare–Round Rock in 2007 and Seton Medical Center Williamson in 2008. St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center also completed a $100 million expansion in 2006.

The Health Science Center is one of several new Round Rock institutions seeking to improve health care access in Central Texas. The St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State University will admit its first junior-level class for fall 2010, and Austin Community College will offer health science programs when the first phase of its Round Rock campus opens that same fall.

The close proximity between the hospitals and schools along University Boulevard has led the area to be referred to as a “meducation” corridor. By training the next generation of physicians — and attracting faculty specialists from a broad range of fields — the programs could shape the region’s medical future, Kotrla said.

She expects many students to remain in the area after completing their studies, an outcome that would fall in line with current trends: The Texas Medical Association estimates that about 80 percent of students who complete medical school and residency training in Texas ultimately go on to practice in-state.

Real-world challenges

Third-year medical students are required to do clerkship rotations in six core disciplines, including psychiatry, OB-GYN, pediatrics, family practice, surgery and internal medicine. This year’s class will be the first with the option to do all clinical rotations in Round Rock.

Dr. Steven Prenzlauer, director of LSCC’s psychiatry and behavioral health department and an assistant professor at the College of Medicine, said the community clinic in the new building will be an important resource for this year’s class as well as local residents struggling with healthcare costs. Through its association with the Health Science Center, the organization introduces students to the challenges of working with uninsured and under-insured patients with financial hardships.

Scherer said the partnership with LSCC makes the Round Rock program unique because of its focus on medical, social and ethical issues that cannot easily be taught in the classroom.

“So often you learn that such-and-such medication is available for such-and-such disease, but you don’t realize the financial burdens until you see it in the actual setting,” Scherer said. “That’s what’s going on day in and day out, and it’s not something you’re quite as cognizant of otherwise.”

Lasting impacts

Many experts foresee a worsening shortage of physicians in Central Texas, and the new medical programs are expected to alleviate some of the anticipated need. The Health Science Center, Texas State University and Austin Community College could also benefit the community by recruiting faculty specialists who will not only train students, but also serve as resources to local healthcare providers, Prenzlauer said.

Experts in fields such as geriatric and adolescent psychiatry, diabetes research and nursing will be among the first group of practitioners to work with students in the coming years, he said.

“The people we’re trying to recruit are outstanding clinicians who have expertise in areas that we feel are extraordinarily needed in Williamson County, and will continue to be needed,” Prenzlauer said.

Nursing is another area facing shortfalls in Texas, as the state ranks 43rd in its number of registered nurses per 100,000 residents, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dr. Marla Erbin-Rosemann, associate dean of Texas State University’s College of Health Professions, said emergency rooms, intensive care units and nursing homes have the greatest need.

As the incoming director of the St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State, Erbin-Rosemann said her primary concern is to train more nurses at the bachelor’s and graduate levels. While it is possible to earn an RN certificate with a two-year associate degree, she said nurses with advanced training are in much higher demand.

Austin Community College’s Round Rock location will offer extensions of programs currently in place at other ACC campuses. Executive Dean of Health Sciences Dr. Eileen Klein said planned offerings include nursing, radiology, sonography, medical laboratory, surgical technology and allied health programs.

Texas State’s School of Nursing received a $476,000 federal stimulus grant in March. In May, the Texas legislature allocated an additional $350,000 for the nursing school and $16 million for the Health Science Center.