Past UNTHSC President spoke out on the proposed second medical school in Fort Worth

It is very rare that a predecessor would make any comments nor critics on his successor's policy and administration. For instance, former president George W. Bush has been numbed on the performance and the policy of his successor, president Barack Obama, even though Mr. Bush has still remained a punching bag in the political arena after 2 years out of office.

Therefore, it is a very rare occasion a predecessor comes out of his or her reservations. Ronald Blanck, DO, Immediate Past President of UNTHSC, and former Surgeon General of the U.S. Army has made comments on the proposed second medical school at UNTHSC:

“I am unalterably opposed to creation of MD degree at the Health Science Center for two primary reasons: 

1. It is unnecessary; and
2. It would be detrimental to the growth and levels of excellence being obtained by TCOM

Over the years TCOM and the HSC have enjoyed huge growth in research funding.  Additionally, the acceptance of students and graduates of TCOM into area hospitals such as JPS, Plaza, Harris, and Cook Children’s continues to improve.  This is why the argument that an MD program is necessary for collaboration with local hospitals and to get research dollars is unsubstantiated.

Saying that the HSC needs the MD degree gives credence to to those who believe that the D.O. degree is somehow inferior to the M.D. degree.”

The comments of Dr. Blanck and his voice of opposition to the proposed UNTMD school should be make us to pause and wonder if the proposed MD option is truly a wise course of action.  The threat to the TCOM's growth and excellence is real and dangerous.

The focus of establishing a new medical school and suppression of opposing views have already caused the harm to the morality and education of the current TCOM students. TCOM had been consistently scoring the highest on  COMLEX board over the past several years. Recent TCOM classes have been getting younger and smarter every year in terms of GPAs and MCAT scores compared to the previous classes. However, the latest COMLEX Level 1 board scores have dropped significantly and TCOM may not be the number one anymore.