Texas A&M boosts health care workforce with largest graduating class

Leading efforts to alleviate the state and national shortages of health care professionals, the Texas A&M Health Science Center graduated 624 students at commencement ceremonies across the state last month. This is the largest graduating class to date, and is indicative of Texas A&M’s commitment to educate exceptional health care leaders in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health and medical sciences.

“The state and nation face a dire health care workforce crisis, and Texas A&M Health Science Center is meeting this challenge by providing an influx of compassionate, well-trained, diverse health care professionals,” said Brett P. Giroir, M.D., executive vice president and CEO of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. “These graduates not only will provide citizens of Texas the highest quality health care and prevention programs, but will also develop into national leaders who transform health care delivery so that it is more affordable and of higher quality.”

Graduates for each college are as follows:

Texas A&M College of Medicine – 143 students received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), two a Master of Science (M.S.) in Medical Sciences and 10 a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). This year, the graduating class exceeded the national average with 97 percent matching to residency programs across the nation, and half serving their residencies in Texas.

Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry – 96 students received a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), 29 a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Dental Hygiene and 41 students with graduate’s degrees and certificates in specialty programs. Nearly one-third of all dentists in Texas are graduates of the Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry.

Texas A&M College of Nursing – 117 students received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.). The college ranks first among nursing graduates nationwide based on percentage of graduates passing the national licensing exam.

Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy – 86 students received a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.). To date, more than half of the college’s graduates remain in South Texas to practice

Texas A&M School of Public Health – 69 students received a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), 28 a Master of Health Administration (M.H.A), one a Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) and two a Doctor of Public Health (D.R.P.H.). The school ranks in the Top 25 “Best Grad Schools for Public Health” by U.S. News & World Report.

Texas A&M Health Science Center’s enrollment across its five colleges and eight statewide campus locations totaled 2,417 students in 2013.