State of the System
The online magazine of the University of Texas System
JAMP
Helping Texas Students Achieve their Dreams of Medical School
Q&A with Dr. Kenneth I. Shine, Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Why is the Joint Admission Medical Program important to The University of Texas System?
JAMP excels at encouraging highly qualified students to pursue careers in medicine and that
is not only important to the UT System but to the health and well being of Texas residents.
JAMP is a unique partnership between all eight Texas medical schools and sixty-five public
and private four-year undergraduate institutions that is funded through the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board. Programs of this type allow institutions across Texas to
leverage existing resources and provide greater opportunities for students, increasing
access to degree programs. With our growing population comes an urgent demand for quality
healthcare in Texas and the need to provide broader access to professional medical and
allied health education.
According to the U.S. State Department, minorities make up 34 percent of the
current U.S. population. Together, Texas and California have nearly a third of the
nation’s minority populations. How does this diversity impact healthcare?
If we are going to have an effective healthcare system, it is absolutely essential
that we see the diversity among healthcare providers that we see in the population
itself. Research shows that underserved patients are many times better reached by
physicians from similar backgrounds. And, as the minority population continues to
grow within our nation, our patients are more diverse than ever. The UT System enrolls
64 percent of all underrepresented minorities in health-related professional degree
programs in Texas. Nationally, UT System institutions rank high for health-related degrees
to minorities with eight institutions in the top 50 — three in the top five — of
Hispanic baccalaureates in health professions/ clinical sciences; four in the top 20 of
Hispanic master’s degrees in health professions/clinical sciences; and two institutions in
the top 30 of African-American professional degrees in medicine. All four UT medical schools
are in the top 10 of Hispanic professional degrees in medicine. I think these numbers indicate
we are in an exceptional position to help ensure that the faces of our future healthcare
professionals more accurately reflect our population.
How does JAMP increase student success?
JAMP provides highly qualified and economically disadvantaged students who are interested in
becoming physicians with the guidance and support they need to succeed. Students have an
opportunity to visit the campuses of Texas medical schools, talk to working professionals
and — with hard work — be guaranteed a position in one of these schools. Whether
it’s a lack of access, funding or encouragement, JAMP helps remove obstacles that might
otherwise block a gifted student's path. Through the JAMP program, students receive both
undergraduate and medical school support through mentoring and scholarships. They receive a
stipend to attend a summer internship at one of the eight Texas medical schools following
their sophomore and junior years of college and assistance to prepare for medical school as
undergraduates. The first JAMP class began medical school in the fall of 2006. We now have
JAMP students in three of the four years of medical school.
Texas’ rate of uninsured is 25 percent, the highest in the nation. How can programs
like JAMP keep Texas residents healthy?
Currently, Texas faces two important healthcare challenges: shortages of physicians and nurses
and the rapidly escalating cost of uncompensated care. The UT System is striving to meet the
challenges facing our state by providing the best education and research opportunities for
health professionals, by developing innovative cures and treatments for illness and by providing
uncompensated care for Texans who are uninsured or underinsured. The UT health institutions
provide a wide array of healthcare services to Texas’ uninsured. Three quarters of the medical
residents at public health-related institutions in Texas are trained by UT System institution
faculty. These medical residency programs are key to retaining physicians in Texas. And, residents
play a significant role in providing care to indigent patients. While Texas is producing more
doctors than it was at the beginning of the decade, the rate at which physicians are earning their
licenses is perilously close to losing pace with the state’s fast-rising growth. Through outreach
programs like JAMP, we will continue to attract and retain highly qualified students, who with
appropriate support, have great potential to be Texas’ next generation of medical care providers.
Kenneth I. Shine, Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, UT System
Copyright © 2009 The University of Texas System. All rights reserved.