Letter to Chairman of UNT Board of Regents

The following letter by Charles Hall, DO, TCOM graduate 1985

Chairman Smith:

I am responding to the letter just emailed to me concerning the establishment of an MD School across from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.   If in fact, you have more facilities for another 100 medical students, then they should be osteopathic medical students. Why? 

The faculty and education plan is already in place to train more osteopathic medical students who are trained to be far better at fulfilling the rural and urban medical needs of the Texas patient populations.  The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine has received many awards verifying the acceptance and  fulfilling the challenge of providing the medical care of rural Texas, as well as the urban and metro areas. 

The Growth of Osteopathic Medicine: An Answer to the Physician Shortage

Osteopathic medicine has enjoyed exponential growth over the past three decades while enrollment at M.D. schools has remained stagnant. In 1980, there were 17,620 practicing D.O.s and 1,059 D.O. graduates. In 2010, there are 63,000 practicing D.O.s and 3,845 D.O. graduates. The number of colleges of osteopathic medicine has increased from 15 to 26 colleges and 5 branch campuses. At least three schools and two branch campuses are being planned. Marian University in Indianapolis, IN, Campbell University at Buies Creek, NC, and Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan are applying for accreditation. Interestingly, because of the continuous growth, one in five medical students in the United States is currently enrolled in an osteopathic medical school. Osteopathic medical schools are remarkably diverse.  In fact, 32% of the D.O. student body is made up by minority groups. By 2020, there will be 100,000 D.O.s practicing in the U.S., more than 6,000 D.O.s will graduate yearly, and one in four medical students will be a D.O. student.

A response to Hopkins, Lowry, Weiss: Why a Fort Worth M.D. school makes sense

The following satire by Phil Goodman, MD to the editorial on Star-Telegram

Maybe Ransom is doing that on purpose to confuse people and gain more support....

He is trying to send out propaganda that the State is getting a medical school at no cost for the first 5 years. There will be a $1.5 billion boost to the local economy. Solves the doctor shortage in Tarrant County and the State of Texas will benefit, too. UNT System potentially improves to Tier-One status. All that and it's completely free to everyone. I mean, it's a win-win. No downside (his propaganda).

According to him, he can do it cheaper than anyone else because the infrastructure's already there (never mind about the $90 million Legislative Appropriation Request because those improvements are needed regardless...blink...blink).

Also, according to him, he's got all the money he needs from private donors so all the State has to do is sit back and reap the benefits. It will not affect the state budget.

A Cost Analysis of the Proposed MD Program at UNTHSC

Spending More Texas $$$ and Getting Less


The University of North Texas (UNT) is attempting to place a second medical school (UNTMD) on the same campus as their already established nationally recognized medical school, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM). The existing medical school has produced more than 3,000 physicians, most of whom practice primary care in Texas. If the Texas Legislature allows this UNT power grab, it will waste state money and harm TCOM’s cost effective production of highest quality physicians.

FACT: The cost to educate an M.D. medical student is much higher than the cost to educate a D.O. medical student.

Open letter to TCOM alumni from TCOM alumni association president

the following letter by John Wright, DO

Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.   (Ronald Reagan)

Dear TCOM alumni:

As members of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) Alumni Board, we feel it is very important that you receive further information about the proposed plan of the University of North Texas (UNT) Board of Regents to create an MD school through UNT, to be placed on the campus of the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) in Ft. Worth. If approved, this new MD school would share (state provided) resources with TCOM. 

Your Alumni Board has voted against organizing this plan.  We have also had a vote of "no confidence" for Scott Ransom, D.O., the president of the UNTHSC for leading the push towards achieving this goal.
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) has stopped funding administrative revenues for the Osteopathic Research Center (ORC), and the AOA House of Delegates and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Congress of Delegates have passed resolutions against the proposal. Texas Osteopathic Medical Association (TOMA) House of Delegates have also passed  a resolution against this proposal.

Vodka Eyeballing

What is vodka eyeballing? It is a new fad of alcohol drinking has been taking place among young people. It supposedly started in Britain and is now gaining popularity in the US. The “eyeballers” pour vodka directly onto their eyes in the hope of obtaining quick high from the alcohol. They claim that “vodka eyeballing” induces drunkenness faster than drinking the vodka. The urban myth is that the alcohol passes easily through the mucous membrane and enters the bloodstream directly through veins at the back of the eye. This could not be more wrong. The volume of vodka absorbed by the conjunctiva and cornea is too small to have that effect.