A look back at the UTRGV School of Medicine’s accomplishments
Although the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine opened a year after the University of Texas-Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American merged, the school has already accomplished so much.
With UTRGV celebrating a decade since its inception, the Med School has piled up a list of accomplishments during those 10 years.
MED SCHOOL APPROVED
In 2014, The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the establishment of a medical school at UTRGV.
The board approved $54 million from the Permanent University Fund to begin the construction of the medical school in Edinburg.
The following year, when the school officially changed its name to UTRGV in 2015, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board gave the university permission to begin offering the M.D. course as part of its medical degree.
That same year, the school received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or LCME, in October.
FIRST CLASS
In its first year, 2016, the school received more than 2,700 applications for its medical school.
On July 25 of that year, the Med School welcomed its inaugural class of 55 students with 20 from the Valley.
They held a white coat ceremony where each student received their first white coats marking the beginning of their medical career.
EXPANDING RESIDENCIES
In the following years, the School of Medicine worked to expand its residency programs to help address the state’s physician shortage.
They began including residency programs in specialties including internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine and surgery.
THE GRADUATES
Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused havoc in 2020 there was still something to celebrate for the Med School.
The university virtually graduated its inaugural class in May 2020 where former Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. John Krouse welcomed the students as colleagues to the medical profession.
Despite having to virtually celebrate the class, Krouse couldn’t help but feel proud of how far the students had come, adding that graduating in the midst of a pandemic may only continue to inspire each physician by bringing a new perspective to care.
FURTHER GROWTH
In 2023, the Med School celebrated its fourth commencement ceremony which also marked a major milestone. The school had officially graduated 200 medical students.
From 2021 to 2023, the school expanded its programs which included a human genetics Ph.D, integrated cancer research, maternal health research and biomedical engineering.
The university also opened the doors to its Institute of Neuroscience in October 2021, as well as announcing plans to build a Cancer and Surgery Center.
FULL ACCREDITATION
In August 2023, the school reached another milestone when it received full accreditation from LCME which allowed the university to increase the number of students in each cohort at the School of Medicine.
At the time, the school already had about 225 students enrolled.
CANCER AND SURGERY CENTER OPENS
On Aug. 4, the School of Medicine launched a soft opening of its UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center, located at 1400 N. Commerce Center St. in McAllen.
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Although not all services lines are up and running just yet, the new facility is already offering comprehensive cancer care, orthopedic and sports medicine, and outpatient rehabilitation. Eventually, they hope to offer outpatient surgery and diagnostic imaging.
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Ten years: UTRGV marks key milestones as it celebrates its founding
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