UTHSC & Mexico City's UNAM Sign Exchange Agreement

The University of Texas Health Sciences Center (UTHSC) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM) have signed a three-year agreement that will facilitate student exchanges and joint research projects.

The agreement also lays the foundation for faculty exchanges, the sharing of medical reference material, and joint sponsorship of classes, workshops, and seminars.

UNAM, which was founded over 400 years ago and which enrolls over 5,000 students, has partnerships with over 1,000 public and private hospitals. UTHSC President Dr. Francisco Cigarroa said that UNAM offers some of the most sophisticated clinical training he has ever seen.

UTHSC plans to start exchanges slowly, with as few as 10 of its roughly 2,700 students going to Mexico each year. However, both schools hope that the exchange program will take root and grow over the coming years.

Source: "UTHSC Signs Pact with Major Mexican Medical School," by Scott Huddleston, the San Antonio Express-News, September 22, 2006

Stats for Incoming Harvard M.D. Students

The Harvard Medical School received over 5,980 applications for the 165 seats in its Class of 2010. Approximately 13 per cent of applicants were invited to interview.

51 per cent of the students entering Harvard's M.D. program this fall are women and 49 per cent are men. The first-years range in age from 19 to 37, with 23 being the mean average. Over half of the students identify themselves as students of color, and 1 in 5 is a member of an under-represented minority. Although most (70 per cent) majored in the sciences, a large minority (22 per cent) majored in social sciences or the humanities or pursued a dual major.

Source: "Class Statistics," posted to the Harvard Medical School website.

First-Year Residents Often Flout 80-Hour Rule, Study Says

A study by the Harvard Medical School has found that 84 per cent of first-year residents work more hours than the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education ethics code allows.

The ACGME code states that residents should not work more than 80 hours per week on average. It also states that shifts should not exceed 30 hours, and that residents should have at least 10 hours off between shifts.

However, most residents who responded to the HMS survey indicated that they worked more hours than permitted under the ethics code.

One of the study's authors noted that a separate survey conducted by the ACGME found a much lower incidence of over-worked residents. He believes the discrepancy in findings is due to a difference in survey methodology, and that the more in-depth questions asked in the HMS survey give a truer picture of residents' behavior.

Staff who supervise residents at the University of Wisconsin Hospital explained that residents are responsible for keeping track of their own hours. Residents enter the hours they work into a computer system; if staff become aware on an intern working excessive hours, they will speak to the intern about the ethics code.

The ACGME ethics code was adopted in 2003 to prevent burnout by overworked residents and to safeguard the quality of patient care.

Source: "Medical Interns Ignore Ethics Code," by Pamela Buechel. The University of Wisconsin Badger Herald, September 12, 2006.

Top 10 Medical Schools for Hispanic Students

Hispanic Business has published its 2006 list of the best U.S. medical schools for Hispanic students.

The top 10 schools are:

1. The Stanford University School of Medicine

2. The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio

3. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Medicine

4. The University of New Mexico School of Medicine

5. The University of Miami School of Medicine

6. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

7. The University of Illinois College of Medicine

8. The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

9. The University of Arizona College of Medicine

10. Texas A&M University College of Medicine

Source: "The Top 10 Medical Schools for Hispanics" - Hispanic Business, September 2006