Message from the Dean
This is an exciting time for health care in the Rio Grande Valley, and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine is at the forefront of providing opportunities for our undergraduate and graduate medical students, expanding access to care and engaging in research that will lead to the development of medicines and treatments for diseases that affect millions of people here and beyond.
Our medical students have the opportunity to participate in a twenty-first century, competency- based medical education curriculum that includes team-based, interprofessional activities that emphasize patient-centeredness, social justice and focuses on serving the health care needs of the Rio Grande Valley.
Residents training at our partner hospitals throughout the Valley will receive an education that emphasizes empathy, humanism, sound professional and ethical knowledge, as well as the skills and attitudes needed to provide excellent health care. They will develop personal, clinical and professional competence while delivering care to a diverse and medically underserved region under the supervision of faculty who are leaders in their respective specialties in medicine.
The UTRGV School of Medicine is making strides in increasing patients’ access to health care through its practice plan, UT Health Rio Grande Valley. We are opening clinical offices throughout the region, offering primary and specialty care to provide much-needed services to residents and close gaps in health disparity.
In fulfilling our commitment to improving health outcomes, our scientists are advancing research on illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative and infectious diseases that affect our region and the world. For example, the South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute has received support from the National Institutes of Health and private foundations to study genetic links to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
We welcome you to join us in blazing the trail for health care and biomedical research that will transform the Rio Grande Valley and the world.