Texas A&M medical students begin inaugural training experience at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas Medical Center

A partnership between Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine is offering aspiring physicians and clinician scientists a unique educational opportunity in the Texas Medical Center. Twenty-four third- and fourth-year medical students attended orientation this week and will begin clinical training and graduate research at Houston Methodist Hospital this summer, with plans to add an additional 32 students by 2016.

This partnership with Houston Methodist Hospital not only expands the educational opportunities for M.D. students, but also expands the M.D./Ph.D. training opportunities. In fact, the Texas A&M College of Medicine expects to add five M.D./Ph.D. students annually. The M.D./Ph.D. degree program offers students the opportunity to work with Houston Methodist Hospital researchers in several areas of translational medicine.

Additionally, the Houston campus will later welcome students from the new Texas A&M University Engineering Pipeline Program which begins in the fall of 2015 and recruits top engineering students from Texas A&M University to the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

“Partnerships with prestigious members of the Texas Medical Center, like Houston Methodist Hospital, will enhance the medical education we offer our students and increase the research innovation in Houston,” said Paul Ogden, M.D., interim executive vice president and acting chief executive officer of Texas A&M Health Science Center, interim dean of the Texas A&M College of Medicine and interim vice president for clinical affairs. “This is an exciting collaboration that will expand in the coming years and will significantly benefit both institutions.”

As orientation comes to a close Shraddha Dalwadi, a third-year student participating in the orientation, explained that she is ready for her clerkship experience.

“Being part of the inaugural class at Houston Methodist Hospital is extremely exciting. Not many students have this type of opportunity,” Dalwadi said. “What makes this partnership truly special is the expertise that is coming together to make sure we have a meaningful clerkship experience.”

Houston Methodist Hospital became the fifth Texas A&M College of Medicine campus on July 1, 2014. For more than 50 years, Houston Methodist Hospital has exhibited a strong commitment to providing high quality medical education to medical students and residents under the leadership of some of the most influential names in medicine.  The partnership with Texas A&M furthers the commitment of the Houston Methodist Hospital to continue training medical students and future medical leaders who will be caring for the health and treatment of generations of Texans to come.