Diversity in the Medical School

Student Diversity:

The McGovern Medical School Holistic Approach to Admissions

The Admissions Committee has adopted the “Holistic Review Admissions Checklist” included in the Roadmap to Diversity: Integrating Holistic Review Practices into Medical School Admission Processes (AAMC 2010).

Diversity Initiatives:

  1. The Joint Admissions Medical Program (JAMP)

    The Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) is a special program created by the Texas Legislature to support and encourage highly qualified, economically disadvantaged Texas residents pursuing a medical education. Funded through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, JAMP is a unique partnership between all nine Texas medical schools and sixty-five public and private four-year undergraduate institutions. JAMP provides support through undergraduate and graduate scholarships and summer stipends, mentoring and personal assistance to prepare for medical school, hands-on experience through summer internships, and guaranteed admission to a Texas medical school for those who meet certain requirements. Currently, this Medical School has 37 medical students enrolled through JAMP and has graduated 17 students.

  2. UTHealth/UT Brownsville Assured Acceptance Program

    In 2012, the McGovern Medical School and The University of Texas Brownsville/Texas Southmost College started an early acceptance program to admit five students a year. Applicants will enter the program after their first year in college, maintain a level of academic performance, and participate in medical shadowing. The partner institution is located in the Rio Grande Valley with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic.

  3. Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)

    Since 2006, McGovern Medical School has been one of twelve national sites participating in the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), formerly known as the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP).  Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges, SHPEP is a six-week academic enrichment summer program that offers freshman and sophomore undergraduate students intensive and personalized academic preparation for students interested in medicine, dentistry, nursing, or public health. The primary goal of the program is to increase the diversity of the applicant pool for professional schools.  Selection criteria include consideration of applicants from minority groups underrepresented in healthcare, primarily African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians, as well as students who are from rural areas or are economically or otherwise disadvantaged regardless of their racial or ethnic background.  Each summer, 80 undergraduate students from across the nation participate in the program.  Currently, 5 students from this program are enrolled in McGovern Medical School.

     

Staff Diversity

Currently, 37% of the staff members at McGovern Medical School are from underrepresented minority groups.

Current institutional policies related to assuring a diverse staff include:

  1. Equal Opportunity, Discrimination and Harassment (Handbook of Operating Procedures {HOOP} policy 183), and Disability Accommodation (HOOP policy 101). The procedure for developing a new HOOP policy can be found in HOOP 128 Policy and Procedure Development and Maintenance (Appendix D). All policies are submitted to the University Executive Council for review and approval. Approved policies are then submitted to the UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for review and approval.
  2. As a State Agency, UTHealth is required by law to give hiring preference to veterans (Texas Veteran’s Employment Preference Act”, Government Code Title 6, Chapter 657- www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.657.htm). A veteran was recruited by the Human Resources Office in 2012 with the explicit charge to increase opportunities for veterans at UTHealth.
  3. All vacant positions are posted on a website “Work in Texas,” operated by the Texas Workforce Commission—the State entity that assists underrepresented minorities and those from lower socioeconomic groups in finding jobs.
  4. The Human Resources Office has developed and is currently implementing a new performance and goal tracking system for non-faculty employees.
  5. The position of Training and Development Specialist was created with the goal of building a program to train all staff into becoming managers and leaders at UTHealth.