The medical innovation district in Fort Worth is getting a new neighbor – Texas Christian University is expanding its footprint by announcing a new medical campus for the TCU School of Medicine, one of the newest and most innovative medical schools in the country.
TCU continues its investment in Fort Worth, Tarrant County and the state, with this major building project in the city's Near Southside neighborhood. The TCU School of Medicine, now recruiting its fourth class, will drive economic development and biomedical advances through partnerships with hospitals, health care organizations and biotech industries.
Construction will begin this year on a four-story, approximately 100,000 square-foot medical education building at the northeast corner of South Henderson and West Rosedale streets. It will be the academic hub for 240 medical students and hundreds of faculty and staff. Completion is planned for 2024, and additional facilities are expected as part of the master plan.
"The TCU School of Medicine is having a truly exponential impact on our community," said Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. "Our Horned Frog medical students are benefitting from an exceptional educational experience, the vast clinical expertise and growing medical industry in our area. The TCU School of Medicine is already contributing to the health of our neighbors and the greater good."
The medical school was announced in 2015 with the vision of becoming an innovative medical school that would contribute to Fort Worth’s growing bioscience sector.
"The TCU School of Medicine campus is an investment in the long-term health of our community, training and educating future physicians, many of whom will remain in the area expanding our physician workforce and fulfilling an important need for our city and state," said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. "This expansion of TCU's campus to the Near Southside represents a significant contribution to the Fort Worth economy and job growth. This – paired with the TCU School of Medicine's transformational impact on health care – ensures that Fort Worth's future remains vital and vibrant."
With close proximity to the major health care providers of the area, the TCU School of Medicine will expand its offering to students and serve as a catalyst for further growth in the hospital district.
"This new medical campus is ideally located, sitting in the heart of the medical district and adjacent to our valued clinical partners and medical providers," Dr. Stuart Flynn, founding dean of the medical school said. "Proximity of the medical school is essential to build robust relationships and advantage the amazing opportunities that we and our partners have in Fort Worth. I thank TCU for the vision that will guide our students and school to drive excellence in health care and innovation for our community and beyond."
The first class of students began in July 2019 and will graduate in 2023. The School of Medicine’s fourth class will begin in July 2022.
"This is an exciting time for our institution. The medical school is a vital part of our stellar academic offerings, further enhancing the student experience and elevating our academic profile," Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said. "TCU is proud of our impactful work in health care. We graduate thousands of leaders per year — hundreds of them are caring and qualified nurses. Our work and research in developing new therapies, addressing health disparities and healing through clinical and social interventions has created positive impact for decades. The TCU School of Medicine advances our mission, and this new campus promises to strengthen our community even more."
The medical school was created with an innovative curriculum that focuses on developing Empathetic Scholars® and future physicians who are able to walk in a patient’s shoes. This forward approach to medical education includes flipped classrooms without lectures and partnering students with physicians from their first day in medical school.
This provides students more time to embrace and study the major drivers in the future of medicine, including artificial intelligence, genomics and technology monitoring patient health and disease. Each student also completes a four-year Scholarly, Pursuit & Thesis research project on a topic of their own choice to promote life-long inquiry and learning.
The School of Medicine received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in 2018. In February 2021 a team of accreditors from the LCME met with senior leadership, faculty and students during a virtual site visit before making their Provisional Accreditation decision. In mid-June 2021, the LCME voted to grant Provisional Accreditation to the innovative medical school, bringing it one step closer to full accreditation.
The School of Medicine has also launched graduate medical education collaborations with JPS Health Network, Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth and Texas Health Resources that will remain in place. Those important partnerships will improve health and the delivery of care in North Texas as well as help address the increasing physician shortage in Fort Worth and beyond.