As of Monday, a number of UTMB third- and fourth-year medical students will be doing clinical rotations for a while at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple.
UTMB students in their first and second year will resume classes in Galveston in early October, according to the medical school. Years three and four will be placed in rotations in other UT System and Texas institutions.
Last Friday, Dr. David Callender, UTMB president, said the medical complex was working hard to recover function.
“Expect steady progress, not rapid progress,” Callender said. “It’ll take a few weeks to recover a significant portion of progress.”
So far, 25 UTMB students were assigned to the A&M College of Medicine Temple campus and there is a possibility of more, said Dr. Robert Hash, A&M College of Medicine vice dean of academic affairs in College Station
“They’re sorting it out in stages,” Hash said. “We’ve been talking to them by phone all weekend.”
Hash said A&M agreed to take up to 35 students.
“Despite the fact that we’re different schools, we consider ourselves colleagues,” he said. “We know each other and we deal with each other at regional and national meetings, so we’re all friends.”
How long the UT students will be in class at A&M is unknown, he said.
“It’s a disaster down there and there are a lot of factors that will determine when their educational programs and their clinical programs become operational,” Hash said.
Hash said he was told the buildings that make up the Galveston medical school are structurally intact, but there is flood damage.
The buildings could be ready in a few weeks, but the infrastructure of the city will play a role in determining how soon the medical school can get back in business.
“There are a whole lot of unknowns right now,” he said.
This isn’t the first time that UTMB has been challenged by a hurricane.
Following the 1900 storm, which killed more that 6,000 people, when officials tried to cancel classes UT replied by telegraph “UT stops for no storm!”
