(Click on images for larger view.) Delisa Rodriguez from Poteet High School (center) poses for pictures after the Teen Medical Academy graduation with (from left) Family & Community Medicine resident Troy Shumacher, M.D., TMA founder Manuel Angel Oscós-Sánchez, M.D., and residents Elena Pogosian M.D., and Saira Khan, M.D.
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At the end of May, 90 high school students from 12 South Texas counties crossed the stage. However, this was not a graduation ceremony at their respective high schools. These students received diplomas from the Teen Medical Academy (TMA), an enrichment program sponsored by the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

The course is designed to interest economically disadvantaged minority students in pursuing a medical or health career, and help them see that this could be a real possibility.

HSC faculty, residents and students teach the classes
During the nine-month program, conducted one Saturday morning each month during the school year at Edison High School, the students learned about clinical anatomy, physiology and pathology using hands-on diagnostic and treatment technologies. Their instructors are Health Science Center faculty members, residents and students from the Department of Family & Community Medicine, and premedical students from several local universities.

“Students learned to suture wounds, apply arm and leg casts, use an ultrasound machine and perform and interpret EKGs,” explained Manuel Angel Oscós-Sanchez, associate professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine. “They also learned how to use a peak flow meter to test a patient’s breathing output and perform thoracentesis, a procedure used to remove fluid that can accumulate around the lungs. They also determined the gestational age of a fetus and ‘delivered’ a baby with the use of simulated models,” said Dr. Oscós-Sanchez, who began offering the course in fall 2003.

Two studies show TMA’s value
Recent studies conducted by Dr. Oscós-Sanchez’s research team have shown that the TMA is not only helping these students become more interested and comfortable with pursuing a medical or health professions career, but has helped them raise their SAT biology scores, which could improve their chances of being admitted to more selective universities.

(Left to right) Family & Community Medicine resident Troy Shumacher M.D.; TMA founder Manuel Angel Oscós-Sánchez, M.D.; TMA students Jeremy Brent from Saenz Junior High School and Earnisa Brent from Edison High School; resident Elena Pogosian M.D., TMA Program Coordinator Dolores Oscós-Flores, and resident Elizeth Lopez M.D., enjoy the graduation festivities.

The first study was a mail survey the students filled out in the summer of 2006. Dr. Oscós-Sanchez said the study found that participation in the TMA independently and significantly predicted:

• Greater interest in medical and other health careers
  
• Confidence in the ability to achieve a medical career
  
• The ability to learn surgical skills and health career-related technical skills
  
• A sense of belonging in a health career and among doctors
  
• And a commitment to achieve a health career

An article based on the results titled “The Teen Medical Academy: Using Academic Enhancement and Instructional Enrichment to Address Ethnic Disparities in the American Healthcare Workforce,” was published in the March 2008 edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

New study shows improved SAT biology scores for TMA students
A follow-up study conducted in 2008 funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board verified the first study’s results and predicted TMA students would have a higher biology exam score, based on a practice SAT test the students took, Oscós-Sanchez said.

Preliminary results of this study were presented in March at the annual meeting of the National Hispanic Medical Association in New York and in April at the annual meeting of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in Denver. Dr. Oscós-Sanchez is now preparing a manuscript for publication in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Health Science Center faculty involved in the program
Other Health Science Center faculty members participating in the 2008 study included:

• Adela Gonzalez, Ph.D., M.P.A., executive director for the Center for South Texas Programs
  
• Adelita G. Cantu, RN, Ph.D., clinical instructor in the Department of Family Nursing Care
  
• Arturo Lopez Jr., D.D.S., assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry
  
• Catherine Ortega, Ed.D., PT, ATC, OCS, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy
  
• Dolores Oscós-Flores, project coordinator in the Department of Family & Community Medicine
  
• Juan Parra, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics
  
• Magda de la Torre, M.P.H., RDH, assistant professor in the Department of Dental Hygiene
  
• Melissa Talamantes, M.S., social science research associate in the Department of Family & Community Medicine
  
• Oralia Bazaldua, PharmD., associate clinical professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine
  
• Sandra Burge, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine
  
• Sandra Liliana Oakes, M.D., associate clinical professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine
  
• Sophia Pina, Ph.D., assistant dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences