Education Blog Synapse BLOG: Education Blog http://www.mcasynapse.org/ Medical school’s inaugural class graduates Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-school-s-inaugural-class-graduates http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-school-s-inaugural-class-graduates Students of the inaugural class of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine successfully reached their goal of becoming physicians; and, they set the bar high with strong test scores and impressive standings during the match process. The 40 students attended the first convocation ceremony of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine May 17 at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso. The ceremony included the symbolic hooding that inducts the graduates into the academic community of physicians.

El Paso Times          

El Paso Inc. -- excerpts from remarks delivered by Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., founding dean

 

 

 

Medical school’s recent achievements highlighted [originally posted Oct. 05, 2011]

In a re-cap of the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine’s most important achievements over the last 12 months, J. Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., founding and regional dean for the school, points to the areas of education, research and patient care.

Education – Our charter class had a first time pass rate of 97 percent and an average score on the exam of 225 on the USMLE Step I exam. Some officials believe it exceeds national averages although that data won’t be available till later this year. Early reports indicate that they are better prepared for the trials of the clinical services than other traditionally trained students.

Research – Research has gone up by about eight-fold in terms of funding. The school now boasts a $12 million research portfolio with internationally renowned scientists working on cures for HIV, searching for genes that underlie major mental illnesses, and studying new treatments for cancer.

Patient care – Not only has patient care increased, but some of the treatments available to our patient population rival that of many of the nation’s centers and hospitals.

]]> Stanford's genomics class triggers controversy Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/stanford-s-genomics-class-triggers-controversy http://www.mcasynapse.org/stanford-s-genomics-class-triggers-controversy An article in Friday's San Jose Mercury News discussed Stanford University School of Medicine's "Personalized Medicine and Genomics" class. Students in the class learn about their own DNA code and the article reports, "The testing is confidential and voluntary." The article further reported that the course's introduction two years ago, "triggered intense controversy at Stanford, leading to the creation of a 29-member task force... Students now have access to genetic counseling and psychiatric care, and they must attend several 'informed consent' sessions about the implications of their findings." The article also reported, "The curriculum is gaining traction elsewhere. The company 23andMe offers discounts on the testing and course materials to universities, and it has worked with schools such as the University of Iowa, the University of Texas and Duke University."
http://tinyurl.com/p8dsl4t

 

Related News -- posted Oct. 27, 2010 -- New program to teach physicians genomic medicine

Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the introduction of new genetic tests has far outpaced the ability of doctors to figure out what to do with them.  The Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla plans to launch the College of Genomic Medicine, a free online physician training and accreditation program, early next year. To become accredited, doctors will spend five to eight hours reviewing materials developed by an international group of leaders in the field and then take a highly interactive test.

USA Today

Related news:

The fall issue of Stanford Medicine magazine explores the dawning age of personalized medicine. Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, notes in the magazine, many people wonder if personalized medicine is “a serious approach to improving patient care or just a lot of hype. Actually, it’s both.” He adds that while an individual’s genome sequence will become a powerful tool for personalizing medicine, it will be only part of the story.

Magazine

]]> Region’s only MD/MPH dual degree program will hood its first class Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/region-s-only-md-mph-dual-degree-program-will-hood-its-first-class http://www.mcasynapse.org/region-s-only-md-mph-dual-degree-program-will-hood-its-first-class In 2009, the UT School of Public Health El Paso Regional Campus and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine collaborated to create a dual degree in medicine and public health: the MD/MPH. This is the only MD/MPH dual degree program in the region. The program prepares future health professionals to integrate medical and public health skills into practice and research.  In the summer of 2010, the first eight MD/MPH students entered the program.   The first two MD/MPH graduates will participate in the Spring Hooding Ceremony, taking place May 1st at 6:30 pm at the El Paso Double Tree Hotel.  The UT School of Public Health El Paso Regional Campus offers several programs including a Public Health Certificate, a Master of Public Health, and a doctoral degree in Public Health. 

Facebook Page -- UTSPH El Paso Regional Campus      

 

]]> Foster Medical School receives full accreditation for 8 years Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/foster-medical-school-receives-full-accreditation-for-8-years http://www.mcasynapse.org/foster-medical-school-receives-full-accreditation-for-8-years
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has officially been approved for full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for a period of eight years.   

“It has been an arduous task moving the accreditation process to a successful outcome, but well worth it. The rewards can be seen everywhere,” said Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., Paul L. Foster School of Medicine founding dean and vice president for health affairs. “It is because of a team effort that our students, our city and the world now have the only fully accredited, four-year medical school on the U.S./Mexico border.”

The accreditation approval process for the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine began in 2008 when the school received provisional accreditation that allowed it to begin recruiting students for its inaugural class of 40 students. That class of 2013 will graduate in May.

Students at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine are educated using an innovative approach that includes a clinical presentation curriculum with early clinical experiences. LCME reviewers gave the school six commendations for strengths in numerous areas including:

•    The focused efforts and progress toward creating an increased educational and academic presence and improving the health of the border region

•    Effective integration, relevancy and reception of year one and two curriculum, organized around and taught through clinical problems and diagnostic algorithms that anchor and relate basic science concepts with clinical skills and behavioral science

•    An effort to integrate its mission into the curriculum through courses and experiences that immerse students in the culture and community of the Texas border region including a required medical Spanish course

•    Taking steps to minimize the educational debt of medical students including maintaining low tuition rates and providing scholarship support

•    The commitment and demonstrated effort of the faculty and administration in achieving excellence in medical education

•    A robust faculty development process and mentoring system aimed at enhancing the skills of junior faculty

El Paso Inc.           

]]> Texas Tech clinical simulation center in El Paso is among 27 with accreditation Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-clinical-simulation-center-in-el-paso-is-among-27-with-accreditation http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-clinical-simulation-center-in-el-paso-is-among-27-with-accreditation The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) has accredited only 27 simulation centers in the world and only one in Texas. It belongs to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Of the 27 institutions, the Center for Advanced Teaching and Assessment in Clinical Simulation (ATACS) at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine is one of only 10 that belong to a school of medicine. It holds this designation along with the prestigious Penn State Hershey College of Medicine and Canada’s McGill Faculty of Medicine.

“Simulation is still relatively new – 15, 20 years old,” said Hoi Ho, MD, associate academic dean for Faculty Affairs and Development, and director of the center at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. “Prior to the Society for Simulation in Healthcare being established, there were no standards in simulation. We don’t want to be second best. We want to be considered the leader in clinical simulation.”

Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Center for Advanced Teaching and Assessment in Clinical Simulation   

]]> NMSU initiates research and education collaboration with top Indian institutions Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-initiates-research-and-education-collaboration-with-top-indian-institutions http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-initiates-research-and-education-collaboration-with-top-indian-institutions During the Christmas holiday trip to India, New Mexico State University (NMSU) Interim President Manuel T. Pacheco and NMSU Vice President Vimal Chaitanya met with S. Ayyappan, director general of Indian Council of Agriculture Research and H.S. Gupta, director of Indian Agriculture Research Institute in Delhi to discuss avenues for greater collaboration in agriculture research and education. Pacheco also signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Yogesh Singh, vice-chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda; G. Raghurama, director of BIRLA Institute of Technology and Science and K.N. Ganesh, director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune. In addition, Pacheco met with Prem Kumar Kalra, director of Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan in Delhi. NMSU has already signed a MOU with Pradeep Mathur, director of Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, during his visit to NMSU in October 2012. For additional information about these visits, contact the NMSU Office of Vice President for Research at vpr@nmsu.edu.

Release   

NMSU Interim President Manuel Pacheco (left) and Maharaja Sayajirao University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh (right) signing a memorandum of understanding between NMSU and Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda, India. Standing in the back are NMSU's Vice President of Research, Vimal Chaitanya (left) and MSU Registrar, Dr. Amit Dholakia (right).

]]> Health Foundation honors its first Fellows cohort Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/health-foundation-honors-its-first-fellows-cohort http://www.mcasynapse.org/health-foundation-honors-its-first-fellows-cohort Eight students from the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in the University of Texas at El Paso’s School of Nursing were honored as the first Paso del Norte Health Foundation Fellows. Foundation Fellows include:

Joyce Meserve (project title:  How Does Readmission Rates from Telemedicine Patient Management Compare to Face                 to Face, Utilizing a Standard Assessment Protocol -- $3,500)

Hector Rodriguez (project title:  Erectile Dysfunction and Depression: A practice guideline for Men's Health and Wellness along the US-Mexico Border -- $3,500)

Hector Morales (project title:  A Couples/Marital Therapy Which Would be More Effective for Law Enforcement Personnel -- $3,500)

Kimberly Miller (project title:  Congestive Heart Failure: Will A Pathway of Education on Daily Self Maintenance and Early Intervention of Symptom Management Improve Patients' Perception of Quality of Life and Reduce Readmission Rates due to Decompensation -- $3,500)

Diana Portillo (project title:  Development and Implementation of Policy and Procedure for Suspected Offender Exams by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner -- $3,500)

Christina Paz (project title:  Improving Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease -- $3,500)

Carmen Ramirez  (project title:  A Walking Program for 55 to 70-Year-Old Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis -- $3,500)

Laura Rodriguez (project title:  An Intervention for Reducing Childhood Obesity -- $350)

 

Fellows were selected based on their academic excellence, research and leadership. This inaugural cohort is expected to graduate from UTEP’s Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in May. The fellowship was made possible by an endowment created through the Texas Research Incentive Program, which matched funds from a $1.5 million grant that UTEP received from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation for the University’s Center for Simulation. Funds distributed from the endowment are used to provide graduate fellowships for students pursuing degrees in a health science field in the School of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences.


]]> Beaumont Army Medical Center nurse program graduates 26 Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/beaumont-army-medical-center-nurse-program-graduates-26 http://www.mcasynapse.org/beaumont-army-medical-center-nurse-program-graduates-26 After a year of training, 26 soldiers graduated from the William Beaumont Army Medical Center's practical nurse program on Jan. 11.  The soldiers received their diplomas and were recognized for their accomplishments during the 54-week practical nurse course.  Upon successful completion of the course, all 26 graduates successfully passed the National Council Licensure Examination-Practical/Vocational Nurse. 

]]> Commission announces creation of global exchange in medical education Tue, 08 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/commission-announces-creation-of-global-exchange-in-medical-education http://www.mcasynapse.org/commission-announces-creation-of-global-exchange-in-medical-education The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) announced on Friday that it "is collaborating with members of the international medical education community to develop the Global Education in Medicine Exchange (GEMx), an exciting new service to facilitate and promote international exchange in medical education. GEMx will allow medical schools to promote their electives to students around the world, and to establish strong relationships with other schools to provide students with a wide range of high quality international educational opportunities." The ECFG said that development of the web-based GEMx application system is underway and it expects to launch a pilot of the new service in late 2013.

Release          About ECFMG   

 

]]> NMSU Regents Professor named Fellow by national science association Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-regents-professor-named-fellow-by-national-science-association http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-regents-professor-named-fellow-by-national-science-association New Mexico State University Regents Professor Elba Serrano was recently named as a 2012 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as a fellow is bestowed upon members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. Serrano, a neuroscientist in the College of Arts and Sciences, will be recognized Feb. 16, 2013 at the Fellows Forum in Boston for her contributions to neuroscience, research, teaching and service; as well as program leadership and efforts to diversify the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Serrano directs NMSU's National Institutes of Health Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program. The program aims to diversify the ranks of research leaders by increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who achieve a doctoral degree in a biomedical and/or biobehavioral discipline. She also serves as a principal investigator and director for NMSU's Building Research Achievement in Neuroscience (BRAiN) program, which prepares students in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain region for careers in neuroscience research.


Serrano's research focuses on the development of the nervous system, disorders of hearing and balance, and brain injury. She has a special interest in neuroethics and has been teaching courses in science and ethics for more than 15 years.

Since joining NMSU in 1991, Serrano has brought in more than $15 million in external research funding, taught more than 2,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate students, and served as research mentor for more than 100 NMSU students who have pursued Ph.D., M.S. and B.S degrees while working in her laboratory.


AAAS is the world's largest scientific community, serving some 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, and 10 million individuals.

NMSU release                                      AAAS website      

 

]]> Education board can permit foreign med students to train in Texas Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/education-board-can-permit-foreign-med-students-to-train-in-texas http://www.mcasynapse.org/education-board-can-permit-foreign-med-students-to-train-in-texas The Texas attorney general's office has ruled that no laws prevent the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from allowing foreign medical schools to send students to complete their training in Texas hospitals. "In sum, nothing in the statute indicates that foreign schools are excluded from consideration," the ruling notes. "By the same token, nothing indicates the board must include them, either." The AG ruling suggests that there are also no time limits on responding to such requests, and that the board could delay so lawmakers could take up the issue in the legislative session. 

         Last spring, the coordinating board's commissioner, Raymund Paredes, recommended that the board approve the American University of the Caribbean's request to allow its students -- and in particular those from Texas -- to have the opportunity to spend years three and four of medical school in Texas hospitals, clerking or taking clinical electives. Lawmakers sought an AG opinion over Texas medical schools' concerns that those students would take spots that otherwise could be claimed by in-state students. 

Attorney General of Texas ruling   

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine       

 

]]> NMSU Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology wins $930,000 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-department-of-counseling-and-educational-psychology-wins-930-000 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-department-of-counseling-and-educational-psychology-wins-930-000 The PhD program in counseling psychology at New Mexico State University was recently awarded a $930,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The money will fund scholarships for students in the program. The grant is funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program to increase diversity in health professions by providing grants to eligible programs for use in awarding scholarships to financially needy students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Eve Adams, associate professor of counseling and educational psychology, is the director of training for the counseling psychology doctoral program.

Release   

]]> Nephrology fellowship approved for Foster School of Medicine Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nephrology-fellowship-approved-for-foster-school-of-medicine http://www.mcasynapse.org/nephrology-fellowship-approved-for-foster-school-of-medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso has received approval and accreditation on a two-year nephrology fellowship program for the Department of Internal Medicine at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Nephrology joins cardiovascular medicine and gastroenterology as fellowships for Internal Medicine.  Ramin Tolouian, MD, will serve as director of the new program, which will recruit two fellows per year starting July 2013.  The fellowship was approved and accredited by the Internal Medicine Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, a private, nonprofit council that accredits medical residency programs in the United States.

Medical fellowships are for physicians who have completed their medical residencies and want to pursue additional medical education in a sub-specialty field. Other fellowship programs offered by the Texas Tech Foster School of Medicine outside of the Department of Internal Medicine include child and adolescent psychiatry, medical toxicology, sports medicine, and a one-year imaging fellowship approved by the Texas Medical Board.

 

Texas Tech at El Paso launches medical toxicology fellowship [orginally posted Mar. 5, 2012]

TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine plans to begin recruiting fellows in July 2013 for its medical toxicology fellowship, which was accredited in 2010. The fellowship is a 24-month training program uniquely designed to leverage the breadth of pathology endemic on the U.S./Mexico border. Fellows will experience a curriculum that includes active involvement in managing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear exposures. Fellows will gain experience in the evaluation and management of an array of differential diagnoses. The experience offers an unparalleled interface with toxicological issues distinctive to the border region. They will also benefit in leading research being carried out at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Fellows will be recruited from within the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine as well as from across the U.S., said Stephen W. Borron, M.D., professor of emergency medicine and toxicology at TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.  Dr. Borron is also a consultant to the West Texas Regional Poison Center (WTRPC), located in El Paso on the Medical Center of the Americas campus. The WTRPC is the first 24-hour fully bilingual regional poison center certified by the American Association of Poison Control Centers in the entire U.S.  It oversees 36 counties in West Texas, health regions nine and ten.

Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program  

 

Paul Foster Medical School adds two fellowship programs   [orginally posted Sept. 1, 2010]

Over the summer, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Paul L. Foster School of Medicine gained two fellowships. The Texas Medical Board approved an imaging fellowship for the Department of Radiology. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Emergency Medicine Residency Review Committee approved a Medical Toxicology Fellowship for the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Toxicology Article

 

School of Medicine to start gastroenterology fellowship next year  [originally posted Mar. 14, 2011]

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has been approved to start a three-year gastroenterology fellowship to begin in 2012.  There will be two fellows per year for the three-year program, for a total of six when fully filled said fellowship program director Marc J. Zuckerman, MD.  Internal Medicine Department Chairman Richard McCallum, MD, said the development is great news for physicians and patients in El Paso who now have a national caliber faculty to serve them.

 

School of Medicine to start Sports Medicine Fellowship in July  [originally posted Feb. 4, 2011]

The TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has received accreditation for a one-year Sports Medicine Fellowship, which will begin in July. The fellowship program received approval for four years. This is fellowship program has lead to a Texas Tech Department of Family and Community Medicine partnership with UTEP, many local high schools, the Sun City Athletic Trainers Association, the El Paso Diablos, the El Paso Marathon organization, and many other groups.


]]> National Science Foundation awards UTEP $1.05M Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/national-science-foundation-awards-utep-1-05m http://www.mcasynapse.org/national-science-foundation-awards-utep-1-05m The National Science Foundation (NSF) will award two grants totaling $1,051,474 to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).  

The first NSF grant for $987,000 will support the UT System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program, which will be under the direction of UTEP Professor Benjamin Flores.  The funds will be used to sponsor a group of 12 talented, underrepresented minority Bridge to Doctorate fellows during their first two years of doctoral training in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.  The overall goal of this project is to advance the national and university goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who enter and successfully complete doctoral training in STEM fields and develop into leaders and role models in academic, governments, or industry sectors.

The second NSF grant for $64,474 will support collaborative research entitled “Project UPLIFT (Universal Portability of Learning Increased by Fun Teaching).”  Project UPLIFT collaborating institutions are UTEP, Ohio University and Georgia Perimeter College.  The grant will be under the direction of UTEP Professor Lawrence Lesser.  Project UPLIFT will offer college statistics teachers engaging classroom mini-lessons and resources consisting of fun items, including cartoons, jokes, quotes, songs, and videos.  UPLIFT’s impact will be broad – the fun based items are being tailored for, and tested in, diverse populations of students representative of the 800,000 taking introductory statistics in the U.S.   

NSF – program solicitation – Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation   
 
NSF award abstract for Project UPLIFT  
 
News Release  

]]> Regional partnership establishes Psychology Internship Consortium Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/regional-partnership-establishes-psychology-internship-consortium http://www.mcasynapse.org/regional-partnership-establishes-psychology-internship-consortium      A new, multi-institutional collaborative called El Paso Psychology Internship Consortium has been established thanks to a combined grant of more than $750,000 from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. The two foundations awarded the funding to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to take the lead in forming a collaborative partnership that will provide internships for doctoral psychology students so they may complete the year of supervised training required for their degrees.  

     UTEP, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) at El Paso and William Beaumont Army Medical Center make up the new Consortium.  It will train at least six students per year to become psychologists who are adept at providing culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services on the U.S.-Mexico border region.

     The Hogg Foundation’s grant for $556,829 over five years establishes the Consortium, and a $200,059 grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation contributes to the program’s long-term sustainability.  As a condition of the grants, the Consortium will seek accreditation for the internship programs from the American Psychological Association.

     John Wiebe, PhD, is the project’s director and the consortium’s steering committee chair. Wiebe is an associate provost and associate professor of psychology at UTEP. He said the program has the potential to attract psychology interns from some of the best graduate programs in the country. It will also attract people who left El Paso to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology.

     Hogg Foundation’s Psychology Internship initiative began in 2011. With the addition of the El Paso consortium, the Hogg Foundation will award nearly $2.2 million to internship programs that will train 62 doctoral psychology students and create 19 new positions in Texas by 2017.  The three programs previously receiving grant awards are Scott & White Healthcare Foundation in Temple, Travis County Juvenile Probation in Austin, and the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

UT Release                  El Paso Times            U.S. Army news story  

[If you experience missing or broken links to the news stories or UT release, please contact Synapse at synase@MCAmericas.org for PDF copies.)

 

-------------- UPDATE:

John S. Wiebe, PhD, is scheduled to present at The Texas Lyceum’s 26th Public Conference, which is focused this year on healthcare innovation. Wiebe is being presented as an "Innovation Insight" speaker. He will talk about the new El Paso Psychology Internship Consortium.  The conference takes place Oct. 19, 2012 in Houston.  

Conference agenda                 Register online  

]]> UT Regents approve biomedical engineering degrees at UTEP Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/ut-regents-approve-biomedical-engineering-degrees-at-utep http://www.mcasynapse.org/ut-regents-approve-biomedical-engineering-degrees-at-utep The U.T. System Board of Regents on Aug. 23 approved a proposal to establish master’s and doctoral degree programs in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. If approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the PhD in biomedical engineering will become UTEP’s 20th doctoral degree. UTEP expects to be able to offer the new degrees by fall 2013 or sooner. 

 

In preparation for the new programs, UTEP has invested more than $5 million in a Biomedical Engineering annex on campus. Students will also have access to the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, a premier facility housing more than $4.5 million in research infrastructure, and the Border Biomedical Research Center, a $45 million center funded by the National Institutes of Health. 

 

“The biomedical and biotechnology industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S.,” said Thomas Boland, Ph.D., professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, who prepared the proposal. “Over the past five years, the biotechnology industry in Texas has grown by 149 percent.”  Boland will serve as the future director of the new programs. 

 

“These degree programs will enable Texas to become more competitive in addressing issues that are not the focus of other doctoral programs in the state, such as the development of next-generation biomedical technologies to serve people in rural and low-resource settings,” he said.

 

W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation                        Border Biomedical Research Center             

 

UPDATE:

El Paso Times publishes story about UTEP’s new biomedical engineering program
Excerpt:
Through a new biomedical engineering graduate program, leaders at the University of Texas at El Paso are trying to enhance high-skilled biotechnology jobs that will target the region's health care needs. It's not just a push for UTEP's aspiration to reach tier-one research status.  The program would forge collaborations with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, where students in the program would take clinical rotations at the medical school and professors at both institutions would partner for research. It also would work with the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) to create more high-skilled jobs in El Paso and improve health care for the region's poor, said Thomas Boland, UTEP professor of metallurgical and materials engineering. Boland would serve as director of the program if the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approves it. Classes would start in fall 2013.

El Paso Times full story     

[Note: Contact Synapse if link to the story is broken, (915) 613-2478 ext. 2 or synapse@MCAmericas.org]

]]> NMSU's School of Nursing receives $810,000 for geriatric education Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-s-school-of-nursing-receives-810-000-for-geriatric-education http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-s-school-of-nursing-receives-810-000-for-geriatric-education New Mexico State University's College of Health and Social Services will receive $269,989 for each of the next three years to train nurses in comprehensive geriatric education. The project, Enhancing Capacity for Aging on the Border, is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project aims to enhance geriatric education for students in the college's nurse practitioner and master's in nursing programs by infusing the curriculum with geriatric content, establishing linkages with a geriatric education center and establishing traineeships. Wanda Borges is an associate professor in NMSU's School of Nursing and the principal investigator for the project.

Release  

 

]]> El Paso Community College receives $588K to advance medical sciences Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-community-college-receives-588k-to-advance-medical-sciences http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-community-college-receives-588k-to-advance-medical-sciences El Paso Community College (EPCC) will be awarded $588,797 in federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The office of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences announced that EPCC’s project “RISE to the challenge” will receive the funding on October 10 of this year.  EPCC will use the money for advances in Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry Research.  Congressman Silvestre Reyes said, “These federal funds will allow EPCC to provide students with more opportunities in health related research, and in turn they will help provide solutions to health challenges El Pasoans and the community are faced with.”

EPCC article  

]]> UTEP School of Nursing receives grant to improve trauma care in El Paso Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-school-of-nursing-receives-grant-to-improve-trauma-care-in-el-paso http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-school-of-nursing-receives-grant-to-improve-trauma-care-in-el-paso The University of Texas at El Paso’s School of Nursing has been awarded $787,202 to increase the number of trauma care nurses in hospital emergency rooms. The funding is from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and will establish the Emergency and Trauma Care Education Partnership Program (ETEP) at the School of Nursing, which will prepare registered nurses and nurse practitioners in emergency and trauma care through August 2013.

 

With support from Tenet Healthcare Corp., 49 pediatric and adult/geriatric acute care nurse practitioner students will train in its Sierra Providence Health Network (SPHN) facilities to obtain the skills and experience they need to deliver advanced, direct patient care in emergency and trauma settings.  Funds will be used to hire pediatric and adult/geriatric acute care nurse practitioner faculty, and to provide students with stipends to pay for tuition and books. The grant also will pay to train 24 nurse practitioners from Tenet to take the Trauma Nurse Core Certification or to become nationally certified emergency room nurses.

 

As part of their training, students will travel to Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center, a certified level-one trauma center in Houston, and Texas Children’s Hospital to gain additional training within the emergency and trauma departments. Future plans at UTEP include offering a post-master’s certificate in trauma care.

 

For more information, contact Monique Lambert at 915-747-6491.

]]> NMSU receives $3.8M to continue steering minorities toward research careers Mon, 06 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-receives-3-8m-to-continue-steering-minorities-toward-research-careers http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-receives-3-8m-to-continue-steering-minorities-toward-research-careers      Funding for the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program at New Mexico State University has been renewed.  In June, it was awarded $3.8 million, extending MARC programming until 2017. The grant will allow MARC fellowships to be awarded to as many as 24 undergraduate students each year of the grant. 

     For 36 years, the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences has funded NMSU's MARC program, which seeks to increase the number and capabilities of biomedical researchers from underrepresented groups. The main purpose of the program is to prepare undergraduate students for graduate studies in the biomedical sciences, eventually leading to a Ph.D. 

     To date, MARC has brought $15 million to NMSU.  The number of students benefitting from the program has grown from six in 1977 to 24 each year for the 2012-2017 grant period. MARC has served 300 NMSU students in its 36 years, sending students to prestigious graduate schools at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, the Mayo Clinic, the Scripts Institute and many more.

     Michael Johnson is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the director of the MARC program.

Release  

]]> NMSU professor is second woman ever to receive animal science award Sun, 05 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-professor-is-second-woman-ever-to-receive-animal-science-award http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-professor-is-second-woman-ever-to-receive-animal-science-award An associate professor at New Mexico State University received a rare distinction at a recent Western Section, American Society of Animal Science meeting in Phoenix. Shanna Lodge-Ivey, an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, is only the second woman to receive the Young Scientist award from the society.  Created in 1975, the American Society of Animal Science fosters the discovery, sharing and application of scientific knowledge concerning the responsible use of animals to enhance human life and well-being.

“I don’t put a lot of emphasis on awards, but I was very glad to be recognized by my society,” Lodge-Ivy said. “I have to give credit to my undergraduate and graduate students, as well as my research associate, Johnette Browne-Silva, who all help to get the work done. The list of past winners of the Young Scientist award reads like a Who’s Who in the world of animal science and I am honored to be on that list.”

Lodge-Ivey is an active grant writer, a co-investigator on a funded grant in calf health and involved in a multi-agency research group to evaluate algae as sources of biofuels. Her portion of the research is to investigate the use of algal by product from aviation fuel. She has published 69 journal articles, proceeding papers and abstracts, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Animal Science. 

Faculty webpage  

 

Grad students also earn awards

NMSU graduate students were also recognized at the meeting. Melanie Beckman, a master’s student working with Lodge-Ivey, earned first place in the graduate student paper competition for her paper, “Digestibility of algal biofuel co-product in a forage diet.”

Kelsey Quinn placed second for her presentation, “Fetal and maternal induction of angiogenic factors during early pregnancy.” She was also elected the Western section, American Society of Animal Science graduate student representative to the American Society of Animal Science Executive Board.

Travis Mulliniks received first-place honors in the applied animal science manuscript competition for his paper, “Metabolizable protein supply alters pregnancy and subsequent retention rate during heifer development while grazing dormant winter forage.”

NMSU also received the institution graduate student paper competition award.

The NMSU Animal and Range Sciences Graduate Student Association placed second in the first-ever American Society of Animal Science Video Competition for its video, “How NMSU Animal and Range Sciences Department is Feeding the World.”

American Society of Animal Science  

 

]]> UTEP nursing programs have twice the national average of male students Sun, 22 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-nursing-programs-have-twice-the-national-average-of-male-students http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-nursing-programs-have-twice-the-national-average-of-male-students At the University of Texas at El Paso, approximately 22 percent of the students enrolled in undergraduate nursing programs and 21 percent enrolled in the graduate nursing programs are men. These numbers may seem low, but they are actually twice the average at most nursing schools in the United States.  According to the 2011 Annual Report from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the national percentages of males in a bachelors and master’s nursing program are 11.4 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

Story               Annual Report    

]]> Two TTUHSC-El Paso physicians contribute to cardiology journal Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/two-ttuhsc-el-paso-physicians-contribute-to-cardiology-journal http://www.mcasynapse.org/two-ttuhsc-el-paso-physicians-contribute-to-cardiology-journal Two physicians from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) at El Paso are on the editorial board of Cardiology Review, a journal dedicated to bridging the gap between research and practice. The editor-in-chief since July 2008 is Debabrata Mukherjee, MD, MS, FACC, chief of cardiovascular medicine and the vice chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at TTUHSC El Paso.

Also on the editorial board for Cardiology Review is Dr. German Hernandez, MD, FASN, FACP, director of nephrology research and an assistant professor of medicine in the divisions of Nephrology & Hypertension, Biostatistics & Epidemiology at TTUHSC El Paso.  Hernandez has been on the editorial board since October 2011.

“The popular journal re-presents original research from prestigious cardiac journals, and invites editorial board members to summarize the research (approximately 800 words), and provide a brief commentary that puts the key findings in perspective, provides clinical practice implications, and places the research in a real-world context,” Dr. Mukherjee wrote in a recent email to Synapse. “Physicians are chosen to be on the editorial board by the editor-in-chief based on expertise, stature and national recognition in the field.”

Cardiology Review – which is indexed in EMBASE, EMBiology, Elsevier BIOBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Scopus – reaches nearly 63,000 physicians each month. It is published bimonthly.

Additionally, Mukherjee and Hernandez serve on the editorial boards of two other journals.  Mukherjee is the editor-in-chief for the PUBMED/MEDLINE-indexed journal Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. Hernandez is on the editorial board of Ethnicity & Disease, a peer-reviewed, refereed medical journal that provides information on disease patterns in ethnic minority populations throughout the world.

Cardiology Review      

Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry    

Ethnicity & Disease  


LATEST NATIONAL HEART HEALTH HEADLINES:

Discovery of New Heart Failure Trigger Could Change the Way Cardiovascular Drugs Are Made
ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) — In their quest to treat cardiovascular disease, researchers and pharmaceutical companies have long been interested in developing new medicines that activate a heart protein called APJ. But researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute…
 
Sexual Dysfunction May Be A Tip-off To Heart Disease In Diabetic Men  
Medical News Today (July 21, 2012) -- Sexual dysfunction may be a marker of cardiovascular disease in men with longstanding type 1 diabetes, investigators announced at the 72nd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Sara Turek, MPH, and colleagues examined the association of sexual dysfunction with clinical markers of vascular disease in 301 men from…
 

With CPR, 2 bystanders can be better than one   
Reuters (July 4, 2012) -- When someone suffers cardiac arrest in a public place, the odds of survival are better when more than one bystander comes to the rescue, a new study suggests. The American Heart Association (AHA) and other groups say that everyone should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation. For laypeople, that usually means doing…

]]> New report on healthcare cultural competence education is online Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/new-report-on-healthcare-cultural-competence-education-is-online http://www.mcasynapse.org/new-report-on-healthcare-cultural-competence-education-is-online A new report, "Cultural Competence Education for Students in Medicine and Public Health," is available online. The report is the product of an expert panel of physician and public health educators, jointly convened by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Association of Schools of Public Health. The report is designed to offer foundational guidance and includes embedded links to background materials, supporting resources and examples that can be adapted for instructional use.

Report  

]]> NSF award creates UTEP and UCSB partnership for materials science, engineering research Tue, 05 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nsf-award-creates-utep-and-ucsb-partnership-for-materials-science-engineering-research http://www.mcasynapse.org/nsf-award-creates-utep-and-ucsb-partnership-for-materials-science-engineering-research The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $3.3 million for establishing a collaborative research and education program between UTEP and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). As part of the national Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) grant program, the award establishes a long-term partnership between UTEP and UCSB's Materials Research Laboratory: An NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).

The UTEP-UCSB PREM program broadens the participation and advanced degree attainment of under-represented minorities, primarily Hispanic students, in materials science and engineering--particularly photovoltaic materials research. The program opens doors for UTEP and UCSB students to participate in research internships at the partner university, and for faculty at UCSB and UTEP to jointly teach advanced educational courses remotely to students at both campuses, among other benefits.

The PREM partnership will also open up global research internship programs for UTEP and UCSB students. The Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB co-sponsors the Cooperative International Science and Engineering Internships program in which undergraduates participate in extended research stays with international partner institutions, such as the University of Oxford (Oxford, England) or Fudan University (Shanghai, China). A cooperative program including UTEP and three universities in Spain adds an additional international component that would benefit the students who participate in the PREM.

In February, UTEP unveiled its new $69.2 million Chemistry and Computer Science Building, a major step toward its goal to become the first National Research University serving a 21st-century student demographic.

The award, announced May 21st by the National Science Foundation, is part of an effort by the federal agency to expand the diversity of the nation's science and engineering workforce through partnerships between well-established research universities and budding research schools with substantial minority enrollment.

News story                         National Science Foundation  

]]> UTEP project to increase minorities in medical school has new director Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-project-to-increase-minorities-in-medical-school-has-new-director http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-project-to-increase-minorities-in-medical-school-has-new-director A-PRIME TIME, UTEP’s branch of the Transformation in Medical Education (TIME) initiative, has hired a new project director. Ericka Quiñones comes to the A-PRIME TIME program from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center where she was the associate director of academic programs for the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Quiñones will help coordinate the collaborations and activities between the partnership and the grant that supports it. 

In 2011, UTEP received the largest portion – $1.5 million – of a $4 million grant given to four participating partnerships over the course of two years. The TIME initiative reaches the halfway point this summer. Donna Ekal, Ph.D., associate provost for undergraduate studies at UTEP, said the program is off and running with several efforts in place, such as an e-portfolio that documents what students learn outside the classroom, a pre-health professions program, professional identity formation through reflection and mentoring, and the development of nontraditional coursework.

News story

 

UTEP receives $1.5M to help cultivate med school diversity  [orginally posted June 28, 2011]

The University of Texas at El Paso has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to lead a  partnership with four other universities to help develop a pilot program to increase minority medical student enrollment, while decreasing the time and expense required to complete medical school. The funds are part of a $4 million grant awarded in May by The University of Texas System Board of Regents in support of the Transformation in Medical Education (TIME) initiative.

News story                     Release   

]]> UTEP receives nearly $600K to increase student retention in S.T.E.M. fields Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-nearly-600k-to-increase-student-retention-in-s-t-e-m-fields http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-nearly-600k-to-increase-student-retention-in-s-t-e-m-fields UTEP has been awarded a $578,162 grant by the National Science Foundation to fund the Student Mentoring to Achieve Retention: Triads in Science (SMARTS) program. The grant will support the program’s focus to improve the retention of undergraduate students in their majors by providing increased access to educational and research training activities within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. 

“The goal is to enhance the research experience of undergraduates, and allow graduate students to mentor and train other students,” said Renato Aguilera, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences and principle investigator of the grant along with Lourdes Echegoyen, director of the College Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI) in the College of Science. “Our proposed project lies at the heart of UTEP’s mission to provide access and excellence.”

The SMARTS Program will provide funding and resources for project teams consisting of a faculty member, a graduate student and an undergraduate student from the College of Science who will engage in STEM-related research.

 

UTEP is the only Texas university selected for S.T.E.M. grant  [originally posted Oct. 6, 2011]

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently announced that The University of Texas at El Paso will be part of a nearly $13 million, five-year grant that aims to attract recent college graduates, mid-career professionals, and early retirees to teach high-need subjects to middle and high school students.

 High-need subjects are science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). UTEP education and engineering faculty members will start early this month to develop plans to recruit, train, place and provide professional development to a select group of students who want to become teachers.

 The DOE’s Transition to Teaching Program chose 30 institutions and agencies in 16 states and American Samoa to participate in the project. UTEP, which will receive $3.2 million of the grant, was the only Texas university selected. The DOE expects about 4,800 new teachers will be certified through the program by 2016. Up to 250 of them will come from UTEP.

Release                            News story 


Did you know that 63 percent of associate’s degrees in stem earn more than bachelor’s degrees in non-stem occupations. A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, based on Census and National Science Foundation data, highlights the value of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) training. The study, which was released Oct. 20, shows that professions that depend heavily on skills learned in the STEM fields are the second-fastest growing occupational group in the United States, after health care.
http://cew.georgetown.edu/STEM/

]]> UTEP professor named Piper Professor for work with nanoparticles Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-professor-named-piper-professor-for-work-with-nanoparticles http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-professor-named-piper-professor-for-work-with-nanoparticles Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, PhD, chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Dudley Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science & Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso, was named one of 10 Piper Professors for superior teaching at the college level by The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. The distinction is one of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a higher education professor in the State of Texas. Gardea-Torresday was recognized for his ground-breaking work in microscopic nanoparticles while keeping the academic interests of his students a priority.

"In Dr. Gardea's 20-year tenure on this campus, he has strengthened UTEP's international reputation as a research institution with his groundbreaking work on nanoparticles with potential for medical and environmental applications,” said UTEP President Diana Natalicio. “His research success has always been combined with a strong commitment to teaching, mentoring and serving as a role model to Hispanic students."

He will be recognized for his Piper honor during the University’s Fall Convocation in September. He is the 13th professor from UTEP to achieve this honor since the San Antonio-based program began to present the awards in 1958.

]]> Hunt School of Nursing works with Beaumont on scheduler software program Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-works-with-beaumont-on-scheduler-software-program http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-works-with-beaumont-on-scheduler-software-program The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing has been working to develop a Centralized Clinical Nursing Scheduler Software Program. This program will allow hospital and nurse educators to track nursing students as they rotate through various clinical practicum rotations. The program was developed by the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and nursing leadership at William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC).

 

“The Centralized Clinical Nursing Scheduler Program responds to the urgent need to automate the labor-intensive task of requesting clinical practicum rotations for nursing students in El Paso. It will maximize the use of clinical sites in El Paso for the benefit of students, educational institutions and hospitals. William Beaumont Army Medical Center is demonstrating their pioneering spirit and commitment to innovation by partnering with the TTUHSC Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing to pilot the Program,” said Josefina Lujan, PhD, RN, interim dean of the Hunt School of Nursing.

 

The Centralized Clinical Nursing Scheduler Program, which has been in development since August of 2011, is currently being tested by the staff at WBAMC and is going through the refinement process.

 

“Beaumont is ready to pilot the program and we’re working to make it an external URL. Because they are a military hospital, their network is very secure and our IT teams are working together to make the program public. If all goes well, they should begin piloting the program in a few weeks,” said Lizeth Corral, director of Information Technology at TTUHSC El Paso.

 

Development of the program was spearheaded by Dr. Lujan, in collaboration with Col. John Modell, Chief of Nursing at WBAMC.

]]> UTEP to receive $400,000 for drug addiction research program Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-to-receive-400-000-for-drug-addiction-research-program http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-to-receive-400-000-for-drug-addiction-research-program The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the University of Texas at El Paso a federal grant of $100,000 per year for four years to support the university’s drug abuse and addiction summer research program. The Summer Mentoring & Research Training: Methods in Neuroscience of Drug Abuse, or SMART MIND program, is set to start May 14. The 11-week program will introduce eight undergraduate students – four from UTEP and four from other universities across the country – to participate in neuroscience research related to drug use. It will also involve two high school teacher-student teams for six to seven weeks every summer. For more information, contact smartmindREU@utep.edu

UTEP’s SMART MIND program     

 

]]> UTEP receives $4M to help address nursing shortage Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-4m-to-help-address-nursing-shortage http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-4m-to-help-address-nursing-shortage      The University of Texas at El Paso School of Nursing has been awarded nearly $4 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to accelerate the training of future registered nurses and address the nursing shortage in Texas.  UTEP is spearheading the efforts to create the Successful Transition and Retention (STaR) Program, a new graduate nurse residency program that will provide education, training and job placement assistance in the registered nurse occupation. Currently, employers are using H-1B visas to hire foreign nurses to fill those positions. The goal of the STaR program is to raise the professional and technical skill level of American graduate nurses to reduce the use of temporary skilled foreign professionals in Texas hospitals.
 
     STaR consists of two pathways: the New Graduate Nurse Immersion Residency (NGNIR) will provide students with on-the-job training at eight Texas hospitals and enable new graduate nurses to transition to the role of bedside nurses in a quality, efficient and cost-effective manner; and the Specialty Nurse Accelerated Program (SNAP) Fellowship will continue as an accelerated, intensive training for new graduate nurses in their field of specialty.
 
     Other academic and clinical partners involved in the effort are Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing, the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, along with hospitals from the Hospital Corporation of America, which include Del Sol Medical Center and Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso; and six Central Texas hospitals that are part of St. David’s HealthCare.

      The award is part of $183 million in grants recently awarded by the Department of Labor to 43 public-private partnerships serving 28 states through the second round of funding under the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Competition.

     According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas is facing a nursing shortage of 71,000 nurses by 2020. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects that between 2008 and 2018 the biggest increase in job growth will occur in registered nurses with 581,500 new jobs. This represents almost 200 additional nurses at Del Sol Medical Center and Las Palmas Medical Center and almost 500 for St. David’s HealthCare and its six hospitals in the Austin area, according to the grant proposal.

Release                     News Story    

 

Del Sol and UTEP join forces to create innovative nurse residency program  [posted Feb. 16, 2012]

     Twelve students at the University of Texas at El Paso’s School of Nursing won’t be job hunting come May. Instead, these future nurses already have a job, thanks to an innovative partnership between the School of Nursing and Del Sol Medical Center. The scholars are the first to take part in a new nurse residency program at Del Sol that provides eighth semester student nurses with intensive on-the-job-training during their final semester in school.  Students participate in hands-on clinical experiences and deliver patient care while being immersed in the hospital’s culture, procedures and policies. 

     School of Nursing Dean Elias Provencio-Vasquez, PhD, said that the program illustrates that nursing education cannot function in a silo any more. “We really need to work with our clinical partners to see if we are doing a good job or what can we do better.”  

     While the traditional nursing program consists of 144 clinical hours, Del Sol scholars must complete 263 clinical hours by the end of the semester. Students are assigned to work in a unit in their specialty area. Currently four students are assigned to medical surgery; three are in the emergency room; two work in the cardiovascular intensive care unit; one is in the intensive care unit; and two are in the neonatal intensive care unit. Their support system includes a preceptor who is an experienced nurse and four clinical educators.  

     The UTEP and Del Sol partnership is the second residency program of its kind in the United States. The first was established by the University of Wisconsin. 

     Cindy Stout, Del Sol’s chief nursing officer, said one of the challenges that many hospitals have is the number of orientees that come in at one time.  “A lot of times the students will need additional time in the clinical areas, and a program such as this gives them the opportunity to have additional time."  

     As part of their training, the scholars also attend specialty colleges organized by Del Sol that provide students with training in the specialized areas, such as critical care. The scholars receive a $3,500 stipend from Del Sol, tutoring and additional training in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and neonatal resuscitation.

 Release     

 

]]> White House proposes $2B program to help train people for high-growth jobs Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/white-house-proposes-2b-program-to-help-train-people-for-high-growth-jobs http://www.mcasynapse.org/white-house-proposes-2b-program-to-help-train-people-for-high-growth-jobs The White House announced a proposed $8 billion program on Monday (Feb. 13) to help community colleges quickly train up to two million people for good-paying jobs in high-growth industries, such as health care, transportation and advanced manufacturing.  The program would transform two-year colleges into community career centers.  Funding would go to colleges and states to partner with businesses to train workers. The program would also help train entrepreneurs, and in partnership with participating businesses, provide student internships for real-life work experience.  President Barack Obama’s proposal is part of his overall budget plan.

 

"El Paso Community College will definitely work with our community to ensure that we submit proposals addressing advanced manufacturing, such as renewable energy, micro-electronics, (and) automated assembly operations," said Yolanda Ahner, vice president of workforce/economic development and Continuing Education at EPCC.

 

College officials said transportation is a high-demand occupation in the region. Other regional high-demand jobs include licensed or certified welders, machinists, energy-efficiency specialists, and photo-voltaic specialists. EPCC also lists health care and information technology as current high-demand areas.

 

El Paso Times  

 

]]> El Paso hosts Texas Association of Health Advisors for the Health Professions meeting Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-hosts-texas-association-of-health-advisors-for-the-health-professions-meeting http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-hosts-texas-association-of-health-advisors-for-the-health-professions-meeting The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine is this year’s host of the 43rd annual meeting of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (TAAHP), which takes place at the Camino Real Hotel Feb. 9-11. As the newest medical school in Texas, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine now joins the eight other medical schools in the state to take its turn to host this conference.            

 

The purposes of TAAHP are to advance undergraduate education for all the health professions, to further the development of health science curricula, to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information and to conduct educational meetings. The TAAHP annual conference is typically attended by almost all the undergraduate university health professions advisors in the state, as well as admissions deans and staffs from Texas health professions schools, including medicine, dentistry, veterinary, nursing, pharmacy and other allied health fields. Attendance is expected to be in excess of 150 participants. Highlights of the meeting include presentations on ethics and professionalism, new horizons in nursing education, competencies in medical and pre-medical education, integrated medical curriculum, professions updates, posters, exhibits and a tour of our El Paso medical school.

 

“I am very thankful to all members of the team in the office of admissions of our school for their diligence in helping to plan and organize the details of this meeting,” said Associate Dean for Admissions Manuel Schydlower, MD. “We are very aware that these advisors were instrumental in helping to prepare many of the 2,900 applicants that we had for our next class of 80 medical students.”

TAAHP program schedule of events   

]]> Wolslager donation benefits El Paso medical and nursing students Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/wolslager-donation-benefits-el-paso-medical-and-nursing-students http://www.mcasynapse.org/wolslager-donation-benefits-el-paso-medical-and-nursing-students The Wolslager Foundation recently donated $335,000 to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso for scholarships to medical students enrolled in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine as well as nursing students attending the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing. Developing TTUHSC into a world-class training institution requires scholarships to attract the best and the brightest students. The foundation also contributed to Texas Tech’s University Breast Care Center. The UBCC provides comprehensive care for El Paso women with breast disease and brings screening and treatment to medically indigent patients, the target population of the UBCC.

 

The Wolslager Foundation was established to improve the quality of life for individuals within the areas where J.W. and the late Josephine S. Wolslager owned and operated their Coca-Cola franchise through December 31, 1998 which included southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and parts of west Texas. This goal is being met by the foundation providing support for educational opportunities, improving and expanding medical facilities and health services, supporting programs and project that facilitate development of children, and youth, as well as services beneficial to elderly citizens.

]]> VA seeks enhanced partnerships with health professions schools and universities Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/va-seeks-enhanced-partnerships-with-health-professions-schools-and-universities http://www.mcasynapse.org/va-seeks-enhanced-partnerships-with-health-professions-schools-and-universities The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday announced the membership of the newly formed VA advisory committee that "will provide a forum for joint planning and coordination between VA and the nation’s health professions schools and universities." The new 14-member panel "will advise Secretary Shinseki and Under Secretary for Health Robert A. Petzel on ways to further enhance what has become the largest public-private partnership in VA’s history and a cornerstone of American health professions education." Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., will chair the VA National Academic Affiliations Council. He is president-emeritus of the AAMC. Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC's current President and Chief Executive Officer, also has been named to the committee.

Website  

]]> Medical school releases research video and annual report Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-school-releases-research-video-and-annual-report http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-school-releases-research-video-and-annual-report Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has soft-launched a new video highlighting the medical school’s research focus, research assets and recruitment of scientists. Interviews with researchers bring to light the value of El Paso as a living laboratory in terms of its unique Mexican-American population and its long generational lineages and stable gene pools. Because Mexican-Americans are a fast-growing segment of the U.S. population and because they are understudied in several areas of medicine, El Paso is poised to have an important contribution to the research needs of Mexican Americans in El Paso and across the nation.

Video and annual report 

]]> New NMSU internship trains nutrition professionals Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/new-nmsu-internship-trains-nutrition-professionals http://www.mcasynapse.org/new-nmsu-internship-trains-nutrition-professionals Those seeking to become registered dietitians often run into a big problem, there are twice as many applicants as internship programs available. New Mexico State University is helping to alleviate that problem with its newly accredited dietetic internship program. The program provides up to 12 slots for interns who have earned a bachelor's degree and met other program requirements. Before NMSU's dietetic internship opened, the nearest programs were in Arizona and north Texas. The internship is key to becoming a registered dietitian. Contact NMSU to learn more:  wmorgan@nmsu.edu or caturner@nmsu.edu.

Release 


]]> Kohl's Cares program awards $97,000 to TTUHSC for kids educational website Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/kohl-s-cares-program-awards-97-000-to-ttuhsc-for-kids-educational-website http://www.mcasynapse.org/kohl-s-cares-program-awards-97-000-to-ttuhsc-for-kids-educational-website The Kohl's Cares program has awarded $97,000 to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The money will be used to expand the Kohl’s Safe Child Initiative website www.colech.edu.mx/kohls. Marie Leiner, Ph.D., a research associate professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Center of Excellence for Neurosciences plans to continue to add additional scenarios to the interactive website, which is designed to help adolescents and children make safe and wise choices in regard to their safety through a technique of vicarious learning. Since 2001 Kohl’s has donated more than $500,000 to Texas Tech through the Kohl's Cares philanthropic program. For more information on the program or to see a demonstration, contact Leiner, Ph.D., at (915) 545-7590.

 

Paul L. Foster School of Medicine receives $73,048 for health education website  [Originally posted Nov. 17, 2010]

Through the Kohl's Cares program, Kohl's Department Store has awarded $73,048 to Marie Leiner, Ph.D., research associate professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Center of Excellence for Neurosciences under the direction of Michael Escamilla, M.D., at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The money will go toward the “Safe Child Initiative,” a bilingual interactive health education website for adolescents and children.

The project is based on a marketing technique known as vicarious learning. The website will be promoted by agencies that support children’s growing-up years, such as health providers, teachers and social workers. Already in the last year, the page was accessed more than 100,000 times, with more than 65 percent of users returning.

Safe Child Initiative website

]]> UTEP $10M gift from Mike Loya will help achieve Tier 1 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-10m-gift-from-mike-loya-will-help-achieve-tier-1 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-10m-gift-from-mike-loya-will-help-achieve-tier-1 The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) alumnus Mike Loya, president of energy giant Vitol Inc., pledged a $10 million gift on Oct. 19 to UTEP.  The gift is the largest donation to date to the Centennial Campaign, UTEP’s most ambitious fund raising effort with a goal of hitting $200 million by 2014, UTEP’s 100th anniversary.  Of the $10 million, $2 million will be used to expand doctoral programs, research initiatives, and promote entrepreneurship in UTEP’s College of Engineering. 

Loya’s gifts are expected to have a tremendous impact on UTEP students and greatly accelerate UTEP’s progress toward becoming the first national research university with a 21st century student demographic, UTEP President Natalicio said.

Release 

 

UTEP's $200M campaign will help achieve Tier 1 research status    [originally posted Sept. 15, 2010] 

The University of Texas at El Paso announced a $200 million fundraising campaign Sept. 14, the largest in the university's history, and has already raised $100 million of it. The announcement comes as the university nears its 100th birthday and competes for status as a Tier 1 research university. The school has a goal of becoming the first national research university with a predominantly Hispanic enrollment. Already, UTEP is recognized as the largest U.S. university with a majority Mexican-American student population. It's the only such university to be classified "Research Universities (high research activity)" by the Carnegie Foundation.

News

]]> Nearly $1M will expand medical student training on the border Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nearly-1m-will-expand-medical-student-training-on-the-border http://www.mcasynapse.org/nearly-1m-will-expand-medical-student-training-on-the-border The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, a Pre-doctoral Training in Primary Care Award of $945,000 for the next five years. The project is called: “Expanding Family Medicine Training for Medical Students on the U.S./Mexico Border.”  The grant guarantees a smooth transition into the new Family Medicine clerkship and will allow the school offer innovative experiences for students. The aim is to stimulate student interest in family medicine with the intent of increasing service to underserved areas.

                 

The Project Director for the HRSA award is the Department Chairman, Gurjeet Shokar, M.D. (pictured left) 

Associate Project Director is the Department Director of Medical Student Education, Charmaine Martin, M.D., (pictured right)

]]> UTEP and EPA launch five-year air quality program Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-and-epa-launch-five-year-air-quality-program http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-and-epa-launch-five-year-air-quality-program UTEP and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are starting Buen Ambiente, Buena Salud: Educational Strategies for Addressing Air Quality on the Border. The five-year program is made possible with a $1.24 M grant from the EPA and $920 K from UTEP. The Center for Environmental Resource Management, under the direction of Dr. William Hargrove, principal investigator, will manage the project.

UTEP 


]]> Reyes announces $1.27M federal funding for UTEP research Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/reyes-announces-1-27m-federal-funding-for-utep-research http://www.mcasynapse.org/reyes-announces-1-27m-federal-funding-for-utep-research  Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) announced that the National Science Foundation and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award the University of Texas at El Paso $1,274,921 in federal grant funding for solar energy research, computer technology, and to expand opportunities for students to pursue careers in health fields. For medical research and academic scholarships for health-occupation majors, HHS is awarding two grants totaling $689,921. More than $363,000 will be allotted for UTEP to conduct research into HIV prevention; more than $319,000 is for a scholarship program to benefit disadvantaged students pursuing degrees in clinical laboratory technology, speech pathology, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and nursing.

"Expanding research opportunities at UTEP is critical to university's efforts to achieve Tier I status," Congressman Reyes said. 

Release   


]]> 54-bed simulation hospital center at UTEP is one of the largest in the country Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/54-bed-simulation-hospital-center-at-utep-is-one-of-the-largest-in-the-country http://www.mcasynapse.org/54-bed-simulation-hospital-center-at-utep-is-one-of-the-largest-in-the-country The University of Texas at El Paso is featuring its newly expanded state-of-the-art simulation center in the new Health Sciences and Nursing Building. Members of the media have been invited to tour the 16,000-square-foot facility, which functions as a real-world hospital where students from the School of Nursing’s critical care program will practice their skills on actors posing as patients. The 54-bed facility is one of the largest university-based simulation centers in the country.  

The center features nine simulation laboratories; an apartment-style setting with bedroom furniture, kitchen and bathroom; four testing rooms; and six standardized patient rooms where students will train in “real life” scenarios dealing with home health care, maternity, respiratory and cardiovascular care, and medical surgical care in a safe learning environment. All of the labs are equipped with video cameras so faculty can evaluate their students.
 

Release                              UTEP Nursing Facebook

 

]]> Council approves fellowship in child and adolescent medicine psychiatry at the Foster School of Medicine Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/council-approves-fellowship-in-child-and-adolescent-medicine-psychiatry-at-the-foster-school-of-medicine http://www.mcasynapse.org/council-approves-fellowship-in-child-and-adolescent-medicine-psychiatry-at-the-foster-school-of-medicine The Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has approved a new fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry for the Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The program is actively recruiting applicants, graduates of a psychiatry residency. Cecilia de Vargas, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry has been appointed program director. 

“The border region will benefit enormously from the fellowship training program especially if the fellows stay in this area because there is a great need for child and adolescent psychiatrists to serve a vast pediatric population with psychological, emotional and psychiatric problems,” said Dr. de Vargas.

Complete story 

See related story on mental health of El Paso’s K-12 students     

]]> Hunt School of Nursing interim dean featured in El Paso Inc. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-interim-dean-featured-in-el-paso-inc http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-interim-dean-featured-in-el-paso-inc Texas Tech’s fledgling nursing school is putting the finishing touches on its transformation. It’s going from an extension campus of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, to a stand-alone, fully accredited school in El Paso. Leading that effort is Josefina Lujan, Ph.D., R.N., interim dean. The El Paso Inc. did a Q&A with Lujan recently.

Q&A                 Faculty profile   

]]> Doctorate in ecology, evolutionary biology is approved Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/doctorate-in-ecology-evolutionary-biology-is-approved http://www.mcasynapse.org/doctorate-in-ecology-evolutionary-biology-is-approved The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved a doctoral program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at The University of Texas at El Paso. The EEB doctoral program becomes UTEP’s 19th doctoral degree and will be available to students beginning in the fall 2011 semester.  It is expected to complement the existing Pathobiology Ph.D. program and the Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering.

Release    
     

]]> UTEP School of Nursing selected to award scholarships Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-school-of-nursing-selected-to-award-scholarships http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-school-of-nursing-selected-to-award-scholarships The UTEP School of Nursing is one of 63 schools that receive funding to award scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN). Grants provided through this competitive program will be given to students traditionally underrepresented in the field of nursing. NCIN was launched in 2008 to address the national nursing shortage and to fuel the pipeline of diverse nurse faculty.

Release  

]]> NSF grants will support STEM programs Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/-1m-in-grants-will-support-math-and-science-programs http://www.mcasynapse.org/-1m-in-grants-will-support-math-and-science-programs $1M in grants will support math and science programs

El Paso Community College will receive almost $600,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation to provide scholarships through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for students pursing degrees in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  The University of Texas at El Paso also will receive $319,300 through the Department of Health and Human Services to support research in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, anesthesiology, and trauma.  The EP Pharma Inc. was also awarded a $138,400 grant through the Department of Health and Human Services to research preventions in organ rejection.

Article                   Reyes Release    

More recently:

NSF awards $600,000 to UTEP to increase minority access to doctoral degrees

The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Engineering, in collaboration with the Graduate School, has received a $600,000 grant to create a program to give undergraduate engineering and computer science students greater access to doctoral degrees. The National Science Foundation awarded the grant in June to implement the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics project. The initiative is expected to increase the number of senior engineering and computer science students, particularly Hispanics, and motivate them to pursue doctoral degrees at UTEP and to do so in a shorter timeframe.

Reyes Release  

 

Did you know that 63 percent of associate’s degrees in stem earn more than bachelor’s degrees in non-stem occupations. A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, based on Census and National Science Foundation data, highlights the value of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) training. The study, which was released Oct. 20, 2011, shows that professions that depend heavily on skills learned in the STEM fields are the second-fastest growing occupational group in the United States, after health care.
http://cew.georgetown.edu/STEM/

 

]]> UTEP produces most Hispanic nurses in U.S. Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-produces-most-hispanic-nurses-in-u-s http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-produces-most-hispanic-nurses-in-u-s In the June 6, 2011 issue of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine, UTEP was named as the top nursing school for awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics in the United States. Earlier this year, the publication ranked UTEP in the top 10 nationally in various academic specialties. This latest accolade adds momentum to a program which will soon get a tremendous boost in facilities with the opening of the new Health Sciences and Nursing Building later this summer. 

Hispanic Outlook                    News story  

]]> Pre-pharmacy students honored at white coat ceremony Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/pre-pharmacy-students-honored-at-white-coat-ceremony http://www.mcasynapse.org/pre-pharmacy-students-honored-at-white-coat-ceremony The University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Texas at Austin are honoring six pre-pharmacy students today (June 3) during the 13th annual White Coat Ceremony taking place on the UTEP campus. The students are part of the UTEP-UT Austin Cooperative Pharmacy Program, a six-year curriculum that leads to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the UT Austin College of Pharmacy in cooperation with UTEP’s College of Health Sciences. The program was created in 1999 to help alleviate the pharmacist shortage and increase the number of Latinos in the profession.  

UTEP Cooperative Pharmacy Program  

Left to right:  Dr. Jose O. Rivera, Stacey Evans, Melissa Carrillo, Michael Payan, Pedro Sanchez, Juan Villanueva and Dominique Werg

]]> Discoveries by UTEP professor boon for biodiversity Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/discoveries-by-utep-professor-boon-for-biodiversity http://www.mcasynapse.org/discoveries-by-utep-professor-boon-for-biodiversity A faculty member from The University of Texas at El Paso announced this week that he rediscovered four species of frogs during a recent African expedition, which bodes well for the planet’s endangered biodiversity. Eli Greenbaum, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences, made the discoveries with African collaborators during his fifth venture to the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year. The discoveries by Greenbaum's team highlight the need for conservation efforts in the remote mountains of eastern Congo. He also rediscovered a fifth species during a 2009 trip to the Congo sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

 

 

(Pictured:  A pregnant frog with see-through skin is full of eggs.)

 

The five rediscovered species were described without photographs from 1950-52, and have not been seen since. The professor, who specializes in evolutionary genetics, described the frogs as colorful, fragile creatures that range in size from a man’s thumbnail to a fist.

“This is good news. My team's discoveries confirm that those jungles have been poorly explored. There is a lot of biodiversity there and it’s not too late to redouble our efforts at conservation,” he said. “It's a race against time to discover as much biodiversity as possible before deforestation causes irreversible extinction."

See the rediscovered frogs  

Read article featured in National Geographic Daily News 

]]> Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing wins freestanding status, UTEP adds doctoral nursing program Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/gayle-greve-hunt-school-of-nursing-wins-freestanding-status-utep-adds-doctoral-nursing-program http://www.mcasynapse.org/gayle-greve-hunt-school-of-nursing-wins-freestanding-status-utep-adds-doctoral-nursing-program Leaders at the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing have been successful with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Board of Nursing. The school has achieved freestanding status and now has 100 days to open. Dr. Josefina Lujan is the interim dean for the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing. She is tasked with seating a class of 40 students in September, hiring faculty and staff, retrofitting her building, and preparing for her accreditation visits in 2012.

Meanwhile, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved the doctorate in nursing practice for the nursing school at the University of Texas at El Paso. It is the first doctoral program for the school.

Article       

]]> Two UTEP teams participate in microgravity NASA programs Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/two-utep-teams-participate-in-microgravity-nasa-programs http://www.mcasynapse.org/two-utep-teams-participate-in-microgravity-nasa-programs On April 8, a team of UTEP mechanical engineering students accomplished two flights onboard reduced-gravity research aircraft at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The team was selected by NASA late last year for microgravity construction welding technique experiments as part of NASA's System Engineering Educational Discovery Program. The team –Jorge Frias, Armando Delgado, Joseph Hernandez, and Mario Rubio – is planning to continue their work using material characterization techniques available at UTEP's College of Engineering.

 

A second UTEP team, led by Christopher White and Francisco Álvarez, was also selected to participate in NASA’s 2011 microgravity flight program for students of minority-serving institutions and community colleges. The team was selected based on their research proposal titled "The Effect of Gravity on the Production of Structural Materials from Lunar Regolith." The proposed experiment continues the research that Chris and Francisco are conducting in UTEP's Center for Space Exploration Technology Research, which is sponsored by NASA.

UTEP article       

]]> El Paso Electric gives $200,000 to UTEP for solar building Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-electric-gives-200-000-to-utep-for-solar-building http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-electric-gives-200-000-to-utep-for-solar-building The El Paso Electric Company has given a $200,000 gift to The University of Texas at El Paso to help a student team enter the 2012 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, a national solar building competition. The team will include students from the colleges of Engineering, Liberal Arts and Business Administration.

Article                 UTEP article 

]]> NMSU biology assistant professor co-authors new textbook Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-biology-assistant-professor-co-authors-new-textbook http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-biology-assistant-professor-co-authors-new-textbook Michèle Shuster, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the biology department at New Mexico State University is co-author of “Biology for a Changing World,” a new textbook written specifically to help raise science understanding and knowledge for non-science majors and how it applies to a student's daily life. Shuster focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning, studying introductory biology, microbiology and cancer biology classes at the undergraduate level. She also works on several K-12 science education programs.

Release

]]> Medical students are matched to their residency programs Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-students-are-matched-to-their-residency-programs http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-students-are-matched-to-their-residency-programs Forty-one senior medical students at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – Paul L. Foster School of Medicine were given their residency assignments during 2011 Match Day, which took place March 17. Of the 41 medical students, two will stay in El Paso to practice emergency medicine:

  • Dustin Corgan
  • Yu He
]]> Thirty-five Beaumont soldiers earn their LPN certifications Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/thirty-five-beaumont-soldiers-earn-their-lpn-certifications http://www.mcasynapse.org/thirty-five-beaumont-soldiers-earn-their-lpn-certifications Thirty-five soldiers graduated from the 88th William Beaumont Army Medical Center Licensed Practical Nurse Course recently. The 52-week-long course is designed for enlisted soldiers during peace and mobilization. 

]]> Local doctor is co-editor of new textbook on Advances in Military Orthopedic Surgery Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/local-doctor-is-co-editor-of-new-textbook-on-advances-in-military-orthopedic-surgery http://www.mcasynapse.org/local-doctor-is-co-editor-of-new-textbook-on-advances-in-military-orthopedic-surgery The U.S. Army Medical Department announced today the publication of Combat Orthopedic Surgery: Lessons Learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new medical textbook co-edited by Army Lieutenant Colonels Brett D. Owens, M.D. and Philip J. Belmont, Jr., M.D.  The textbook was launched this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2011 Annual Meeting. More than 50 military surgeons and scientists collaborated on this initiative to address a widely recognized need for an evidence-based resource that prepares military orthopedic surgeons facing deployment to today's combat zone.

"This project is exceptional because the contributing authors encapsulate a remarkable scope of experience," said co-editor Dr. Lt. Col. Belmont Jr., Program Director, Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, William Beaumont Army Medical Center/Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso. "The book is the first resource to unite the military's rich clinical experience in orthopedic surgery over the last decade with peer-reviewed research and guidelines."

Release          

]]> School of Medicine to begin two more fellowships Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/school-of-medicine-begins-two-more-fellowships http://www.mcasynapse.org/school-of-medicine-begins-two-more-fellowships The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved and accredited a two-year fellowship program in rheumatology and a three-year fellowship in cardiovascular disease. Both fellowships are cleared to recruit and matriculate their first class of fellows in July. The approval of these fellowships bring the total to five fellowships on the Texas Tech El Paso campus. The others are sports medicine (also cleared to recruit in July), imaging and medical toxicology. Fellowship training is subspecialty training beyond the three-to-five year residency training physicians complete upon graduation from medical school.

Release  


]]> UTEP professor is co-author of report on electric cars Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-professor-is-co-author-of-report-on-electric-cars http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-professor-is-co-author-of-report-on-electric-cars Bradley W. Lane, an assistant professor and transportation expert at the University of Texas at El Paso, is the co-author of a report on electric cars published this month by Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he previously taught. A diverse panel of experts, including members of the auto industry, contributed to the report titled "Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress."

The Report

Article

]]> UTEP receives $2M from alumnus and Halliburton Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-2m-from-alumnus-and-halliburton http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-receives-2m-from-alumnus-and-halliburton UTEP graduate Bob Malone and his wife gave the University of Texas at El Paso $1.5 million. Halliburton, a worldwide energy and oil company, gave an additional $500,000. Malone is a Halliburton board member. The donation will be used by the College of Engineering to start a new bachelor of science degree that will teach engineering students management skills.

Article

]]> Forbes Magazine ranks best colleges for minorities in STEM Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/forbes-magazine-ranks-best-colleges-for-minorities-in-stem http://www.mcasynapse.org/forbes-magazine-ranks-best-colleges-for-minorities-in-stem Forbes Magazine has ranked Texas Tech University-Lubbock, New Mexico State University and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology as three of the best colleges for minorities pursuing opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The report, released Dec. 15, ranked Texas Tech at 7, NMSU at 13 and New Mexico Tech at 20.

Rankings list                               Forbes

]]> Medical residency programs with international rotations are on the rise Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-residency-programs-with-international-rotations-are-on-the-rise http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-residency-programs-with-international-rotations-are-on-the-rise An article in the Boston Globe on Jan. 10 discussed the increasing number of U.S. medical residency programs that are offering international experiences. The American Medical Association Journal of Ethics reports that the percentage of graduating medical students participating in global health electives has risen from 6 to 30 percent in the past 25 years. The American Academy of Family Physicians lists almost 80 international programs for residents, some with rotations in several countries.

Boston Globe

]]> UTEP, Texas Tech sign collaboration agreement Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-texas-tech-sign-collaboration-agreement http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-texas-tech-sign-collaboration-agreement Leaders at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) publicly sign an agreement formalizing their commitment to work together to provide high quality health professions education, research and health care services to the Paso del Norte region. Participants included UTEP President Diana Natalicio, TTUHSC President Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D., UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, Texas Tech University System Chancellor Kent Hance, and UT System Board of Regents Vice Chairman Paul L. Foster.

Article

]]> UTEP offers new biochemistry undergraduate degree Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-offers-new-biochemistry-undergraduate-degree http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-offers-new-biochemistry-undergraduate-degree Beginning the spring 2011 semester, The University of Texas at El Paso will offer a new undergraduate degree in biochemistry. Students who earn the new biochemistry degree will be prepared to go to medical school or a graduate program on their way to careers as doctors or with pharmaceutical companies discovering new treatments for disease. Since 2001, the chemistry department at UTEP has grown from 46 undergraduates to more than 200 undergraduates and 100 graduate students.

Release

]]> Hunt School of Nursing tries for March accreditation, September opening Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-tries-for-march-accreditation-september-opening http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-school-of-nursing-tries-for-march-accreditation-september-opening Faculty and staff at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Nursing in El Paso are preparing documents for accreditation of the new and autonomous TTUHSC Gail Greve Hunt School of Nursing in El Paso.  The documents will be mailed to the Texas State Board of Nursing on Dec. 20, putting the institution in line for an accreditation site visit by the board in January. The board will issue their decision in March, formally accrediting the school.  The first class will enter the school September 2011, designating the Gail Greve Hunt School of Nursing as the seventh school at TTUHSC and the second on the TTUHSC El Paso campus.

Release                                School of Nursing

]]> UTEP engineer is one of 53 named innovative Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-engineer-is-one-of-53-named-innovative http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-engineer-is-one-of-53-named-innovative

Stella Quiñones, Ph.D., assistant professor of engineering and computer science at the University of Texas at El Paso, was named among 53 of the nation’s most innovative young engineering educators. Her achievements will be recognized at this year’s second annual Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium to be held Dec. 13-18 in Irvine, Calif. 

Release

]]> $2.4 million grant will prepare undergraduates for neuroscience careers Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.mcasynapse.org/grant-will-prepare-undergraduates-for-neuroscience-careers http://www.mcasynapse.org/grant-will-prepare-undergraduates-for-neuroscience-careers A grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow New Mexico State University and the University of Colorado Denver to focus on preparing students in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain region for careers in neuroscience research. Specifically, the $2.4 million will go toward establishing the Building Research Achievement in Neuroscience (BRAiN) program.

BRAiN will allow junior and senior undergraduates at both universities to benefit from mentoring, research experience, curriculum development, seminars and journal clubs. Students will be chosen based on competitive criteria. The program is expected to initiate during the spring semester and will begin accepting student applications January 2011.

The BRAiN partnership supports the NIH’s new initiative, Blueprint for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences.

Release

NMSU BRAiN

UC BRAiN

]]> El Paso Inc. prints Q & A with Schoephoerster of UTEP Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-inc-prints-q-a-with-schoephoerster-of-utep http://www.mcasynapse.org/el-paso-inc-prints-q-a-with-schoephoerster-of-utep Richard Schoephoerster, Ph.D., has been the dean of UTEP’s College of Engineering for four years. He leadership comes with the assertion that the development of a new kind of engineer is imperative toward being globally competitive. This new kind of engineer is people savvy, a good communicator and creative. A leader in the region’s life sciences community, Schoephoerster says he would like to see a Silicon Valley of sorts develop in El Paso. His bachelor’s degree is in Biomedical Engineering, and he holds a master and doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa.

El Paso Inc. 

]]> Boland of UTEP Named a Fellow of engineering institute Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/boland-of-utep-named-a-fellow-of-engineering-institute http://www.mcasynapse.org/boland-of-utep-named-a-fellow-of-engineering-institute Thomas Boland, Ph.D., has been named to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows, Class of 2011.  A metallurgical and materials engineering professor, Dr. Boland also serves as director of the biomedical engineering programs at The University of Texas at El Paso.  Boland’s work has been cited more than 800 times and he has received numerous awards.  He was featured on CNN and the Discovery Channel for his groundbreaking research using inkjet printers to assemble cells and biomaterials into viable and functioning structures. 

AIMBE’s College of Fellows is comprised of 1,000 individuals who are outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry, and government.  To earn this prestigious honor, individuals must distinguish themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education.

 Boland will be formally inducted to AIMBE’s College of Fellows during AIMBE’s Annual Event in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 2011. The AIMBE was founded in 1991 to establish a clear and comprehensive identity for the field of medical and biological engineering.

National News of Interest: 

On Sept. 18, Wall Street Journal reported on "bioprinting," noting that "about a dozen major university and corporate laboratories, biomedical engineers are working on ways to print living human tissue, in the hope of one day producing personalized body parts and implants on demand. Still far from clinical use, these tissue-engineering experiments represent the next step in a process known as computerized adaptive manufacturing, in which industrial designers turn out custom prototypes and finished parts using inexpensive 3-D computer printers. Instead of extruding plastic, metal or ceramics, these medical printers squirt an ink of living cells."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443816804578002101200151098.html

]]> TTUHSC Anesthesiology Residency Approved Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/ttuhsc-anesthesiology-residency-approved http://www.mcasynapse.org/ttuhsc-anesthesiology-residency-approved The Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has approved a four-year anesthesiology residency program at the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Twelve resident spots, three in each program year, have been approved for the program.

]]> Hunt Family Foundation gives $10M for autonomous nursing school Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-family-foundation-gives-10m-for-autonomous-nursing-school http://www.mcasynapse.org/hunt-family-foundation-gives-10m-for-autonomous-nursing-school Texas Tech University System Chancellor Kent Hance announced a generous gift of $10 million from the Hunt Family Foundation to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). The donation will be used to develop an autonomous, fully accredited nursing school at the TTUHSC campus in El Paso.  The school will be named the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing, after the wife of Woody L. Hunt, chairman of the Hunt Family Foundation and CEO of the Hunt Companies.

It is anticipated that the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing will have an enrollment of 500 students by 2015.  In the future, the Texas Tech University System strives to establish a full-fledged health sciences center in El Paso, which would include a graduate school, a dental school, and other capacities.

Release

El Paso Inc.

Dallas Morning News

]]> De la Vega is a finalist for CNN Hero award Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/de-la-vega-is-a-finalist-for-cnn-hero-award http://www.mcasynapse.org/de-la-vega-is-a-finalist-for-cnn-hero-award Philanthropist and FEMAP founder Guadalupe De la Vega was named a top-10 finalist for the CNN Hero of the Year award. De la Vega will receive $25,000 as a finalist. The money has been earmarked for the construction of the nonprofit's new nursing school in Juarez. Voters will decide who wins the top honor, which comes with $100,000. CNN reporter Anderson Cooper will announce the winner on Thanksgiving Day.

FEMAP is a nonprofit healthcare organization and it runs Hospital de la Familia in Juarez. Earlier this year, FEMAP announced plans to build a new school to accommodate more nursing students. If De la Vega wins the top prize, the money will also go toward the school.

Vote

]]> Report declares U.S. Must Involve Minorities in Science and Engineering Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/report-declares-u-s-must-involve-minorities-in-science-and-engineering http://www.mcasynapse.org/report-declares-u-s-must-involve-minorities-in-science-and-engineering The National Academies released a report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. The report says that efforts to strengthen U.S. science and engineering and the nation's competitive edge must include all Americans, especially minorities, who are the fastest growing groups of the U.S. population but the most underrepresented in science and technology careers.

Powerpoint

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]]> Health foundation awards $15,000 to help Juarez children Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/health-foundation-awards-15-000-to-help-ju-rez-children http://www.mcasynapse.org/health-foundation-awards-15-000-to-help-ju-rez-children The FEMAP Foundation in collaboration with Salud y Desarrollo Comunitario de Cd. Juárez has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation to develop and pilot a modified form of the “KidsExcel” program to 200 fourth-grade children from three schools in Ciudad Juárez plagued by poverty and violence.  Through physically challenging artistic activities, the program empowers children to be active, be assertive, be creative thinkers, learn self control, respect diversity, and have the desire to learn. 

Release

Kids Excel

 

]]> Texas Techs Internal Medicines GI Division Named National Center of Excellence Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-s-internal-medicine-s-gi-division-named-national-center-of-excellence http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-s-internal-medicine-s-gi-division-named-national-center-of-excellence The Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has been named a National Center of Excellence by the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society (ANMS).  Richard McCallum, M.D., professor and founding chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Marc J. Zuckerman, M.D., chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, will head up the teaching team.  It is one of eight sites selected in the U.S. and the only site in the Southwest.    Recently, the division was recognized for its NIH-funded research as well as pioneering work on gastroparesis and gastric electrical stimulation.

Release                         El Paso Times feature story on Dr. Richard McCallum  

]]> UTEP offers New Degree for Future Biomedical Researchers Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-offers-new-degree-for-future-biomedical-researchers http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-offers-new-degree-for-future-biomedical-researchers A new bachelor's degree at The University of Texas at El Paso is designed to help prepare the next generation of biomedical researchers. The Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and molecular biochemistry will differ from other options within the Department of Biological Sciences by focusing on research theory and practice in biochemistry, said department Chair Robert Kirken, Ph.D.

More

]]> China explores collaboration with NMSU College of Engineering Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/china-explores-collaboration-with-nmsu-college-of-engineering http://www.mcasynapse.org/china-explores-collaboration-with-nmsu-college-of-engineering A delegation from China's Ministry of Transportation visited NMSU recently to gain expertise from the university's Bridge Evaluation Research Center, while also pursuing a potential academic exchange program.

TV news

]]> Ft. Bliss leads news story about soldier mental health issues Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/ft-bliss-leads-news-story-about-soldier-mental-health-issues http://www.mcasynapse.org/ft-bliss-leads-news-story-about-soldier-mental-health-issues The Seattle Times reported on returning U.S. soldiers from Iraq and the Army’s problem with epidemic drug abuse and criminal behavior.  The story cites a 350-page report issued in July after a 15-month investigation into the Army's rising suicide rate. The report found that levels of illegal drug use and criminal activity have reached record highs, while the number of disciplinary actions and forced discharges were at record lows.

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]]> Advocates for medical school are inducted into Business Hall of Fame Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/advocates-for-medical-school-are-inducted-into-business-hall-of-fame http://www.mcasynapse.org/advocates-for-medical-school-are-inducted-into-business-hall-of-fame Rick Francis, J. Robert Brown and Dr. Jose Manuel de la Rosa were inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame this week.  They were selected for playing key roles in getting a Texas Tech medical school opened in El Paso.  The medical school is considered one of the most important economic drivers in the community for decades to come.

Article

More

]]> TEXAS TECH REGENTS APPROVE AUTONOMOUS NURSING SCHOOL Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-regents-approve-autonomous-nursing-school http://www.mcasynapse.org/texas-tech-regents-approve-autonomous-nursing-school  

The Texas Tech University Board of Regents unanimously approved an initiative to start planning an autonomous school of nursing in El Paso.  Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said the school may take about five years to open due to the state budget crunch.

Release                            El Paso Times

 

]]> EPCC WINS GRANT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY WORKFORCE TRAINING Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/epcc-wins-grant-for-renewable-energy-workforce-training http://www.mcasynapse.org/epcc-wins-grant-for-renewable-energy-workforce-training  

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded El Paso Community College a $343,928 grant from the Skills Development Fund. The grant will enable EPCC’s Workforce/Economic Development Department and the El Paso Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee to train 65 contractor employees in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

El Paso Inc.

]]> NMSU NAMES AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION HEAD Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-names-agricultural-experiment-station-head http://www.mcasynapse.org/nmsu-names-agricultural-experiment-station-head New Mexico State University's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences announced the appointment of David Thompson as Associate Dean and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Thompson has been the department head and a professor in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science since July 2007. He has been with NMSU since 1987.

Thompson                Publications

 

]]> BORDER SECURITY CONFERENCE POINTS TO HEALTH & JOBS Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/border-security-conference-points-to-health-jobs http://www.mcasynapse.org/border-security-conference-points-to-health-jobs Healthy populations and gainful employment are the key to protecting the nation's borders, experts said at the 7th Annual Border Security Conference Aug. 12. Health care, especially with the expected U.S. reforms, can provide an engine to boost economic activity and create jobs on both sides of the border, which will reduce the need for illegal crossings.

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]]> utep's medical professions institute addresses hispanic physicians shortage Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-s-medical-professional-istitute http://www.mcasynapse.org/utep-s-medical-professional-istitute The University of Texas at El Paso has a Medical Professions Institute designed to help students compete for admission into medical school. The majority of the institute’s pre-med students are Hispanic, giving medical schools a pool from which to recruit future physicians who are bilingual and culturally sensitive. UTEP is a partnership school for early medical acceptance programs at Boston University and all Texas public medical schools.
 
UTEP                                   USA Today

]]> Medical Physics Degree is First Offered in Region Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-physics-degree-is-first-offered-in-region http://www.mcasynapse.org/medical-physics-degree-is-first-offered-in-region The University of Texas at El Paso will begin offering a new Master of Science in medical physics degree in the fall 2010 semester. The degree is the first of its kind in West Texas. The announcement was made July 1.

UTEP

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