Texas A&M Health

Texas A&M Health, formerly known as the Texas A&M Health Science Center and also referred to as Texas A&M University Health, is the health-sciences component of Texas A&M University. It brings together professional education, graduate training, biomedical and population-health research, and patient-care activities across several locations in Texas. Its academic scope includes dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, biomedical sciences, and engineering medicine. The organization was established in 1999 as an independent institution within the Texas A&M University System. It received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in December 2002, allowing it to award baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. A major institutional change occurred on July 12, 2013, when the health science center and its constituent colleges were merged into Texas A&M University. The resulting structure made Texas A&M Health an integrated university health enterprise rather than a separately operated system institution. Texas A&M Health encompasses six principal schools: the Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, the School of Dentistry, the School of Engineering Medicine, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the School of Public Health. Together, these schools provide programs ranging from undergraduate degrees and certificates to professional doctorates, research doctorates, and combined-degree programs. The School of Engineering Medicine's EnMed program combines medical education with engineering training and is based in Houston. The School of Medicine operates educational and clinical activities in multiple Texas communities, including Bryan–College Station, Dallas, Houston, Round Rock, and Temple. Its offerings include the Doctor of Medicine, graduate medical-science degrees, an MD/PhD pathway, and combined programs linking medicine with business administration, public health, education for health-care professionals, science and technology journalism, and other fields. The School of Dentistry provides dental education and oral-biology research, while the School of Nursing offers traditional and second-degree bachelor's routes, registered-nurse completion, master's specialties, doctoral nursing education, and postgraduate certificates. The Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy focuses on the Doctor of Pharmacy, pharmaceutical-sciences research, and a PharmD/MBA option. The School of Public Health offers undergraduate, master's, doctoral, executive, online, dual-degree, and certificate programs in areas such as epidemiology, health administration, health policy, occupational safety, global health, and maternal and child health. Across its schools and affiliated units, Texas A&M Health also supports community and rural health programs, population-health research, health-services research, craniofacial research, biotechnology, and health-organization studies. Its affiliated centers and institutes include the A&M Rural and Community Health Institute, the Center for Craniofacial Research & Diagnosis, the Center for Health Organization Transformation, the Center for Population Health and Aging, the Coastal Bend Health Education Center, the Global Institute for Hispanic Health, Healthy South Texas, and the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston. These units extend the organization beyond degree teaching into applied research, workforce development, public-health outreach, and regional health-care improvement. Texas A&M Health therefore functions as a distributed academic health center serving students, researchers, health professionals, patients, and communities across Texas.

Texas A&M Health originated in 1999 as an independent health-sciences institution within the Texas A&M University System. Its creation provided an organizational framework for expanding medical and health-professions education, research, and service activities associated with the Texas A&M system. Rather than being limited to a single campus or discipline, the institution developed as a multi-school health enterprise covering medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, biomedical sciences, and related research. The institution pursued formal academic recognition during its early years. In December 2002, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited it to award bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. This accreditation supported the development of a broad portfolio of health-professions and research programs and established the institution as a degree-granting academic health center within Texas higher education. Over time, the center expanded its educational and research footprint through multiple campuses, clinical locations, and affiliated institutes. Its medical education activities reached Bryan–College Station, Dallas, Houston, Round Rock, and Temple, while other programs and public-health initiatives operated in additional Texas communities, including McAllen and the Coastal Bend region. The organization also developed centers concerned with rural health, population health and aging, health-care organization, craniofacial research, Hispanic health, biotechnology, and community health. A decisive structural change took place on July 12, 2013, when the health science center and its colleges merged with Texas A&M University. After the merger, the institution became the university's integrated health-sciences component and adopted the Texas A&M Health identity. The change linked its schools more directly with the university's wider academic, engineering, research, and administrative resources while retaining a distinct health-focused organization. In its current form, Texas A&M Health is organized around six schools. The School of Medicine provides medical and medical-science education; the School of Dentistry offers dental and oral-biology training; the Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy provides pharmacy and pharmaceutical-sciences education; the School of Nursing trains nurses at undergraduate and graduate levels; the School of Public Health covers population health, health administration, policy, and related fields; and the School of Engineering Medicine operates the EnMed model, pairing medical education with engineering. The schools are supported by research institutes and community-oriented programs that connect academic work with health-care delivery and public-health needs. Its degree portfolio includes bachelor's programs, professional doctorates, research doctorates, master's degrees, certificates, online study, and combined-degree routes. Examples include the DDS, MD, PharmD, DNP, DrPH, PhD, MPH, MHA, and MD/PhD, along with combinations involving business administration, public health, education, law, engineering, and science and technology journalism. This range reflects the institution's emphasis on interdisciplinary preparation for clinical practice, research, health administration, public policy, and health-care innovation.

• 2013

  Merged into Texas A&M University

  [1]Texas A&M Healthen.wikipedia.org

  On July 12, the health science center and its colleges were merged with Texas A&M University, creating the institutional basis for the current Texas A&M Health structure.

• 2002

  Receives regional accreditation

  [1]Texas A&M Healthen.wikipedia.org

  In December, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the institution to award bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees.

• 1999

  Health science center established

  [1]Texas A&M Healthen.wikipedia.org

  Texas A&M Health was established as an independent institution within the Texas A&M University System to organize health-professions education, research, and related services.

An integrated academic health center combining professional education, biomedical and population-health research, engineering-led innovation, and community and patient-care initiatives across Texas.

• Medical education and research

  School of Medicine

  The School of Medicine offers the Doctor of Medicine at several Texas locations, as well as medical-science master's and doctoral programs. Its portfolio includes MD/PhD and other combined pathways linking medicine with business administration, public health, education for health-care professionals, science and technology journalism, and related fields.

• Dental education and oral-biology research

  School of Dentistry

  The School of Dentistry provides professional training leading to the Doctor of Dental Surgery and academic programs in dental hygiene and oral biology. Its associated research activities include craniofacial research and diagnosis.

• Interdisciplinary medical and engineering education

  School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed)

  EnMed is an engineering-medicine program based in Houston that combines medical education with advanced engineering training. It is designed to prepare physicians who can develop and apply technological approaches to clinical problems.

• Nursing education

  School of Nursing

  The School of Nursing offers traditional and second-degree BSN programs, RN-to-BSN completion, master's education in areas such as nursing education, family practice, and forensic nursing, a Doctor of Nursing Practice, and postgraduate certificates including psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioner training.

• Pharmacy education and pharmaceutical sciences

  Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy

  The pharmacy school offers the Doctor of Pharmacy, a PharmD/MBA combined pathway, and a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. Its work spans professional pharmacy preparation and research-oriented pharmaceutical training.

• Public-health education and research

  School of Public Health

  The School of Public Health provides undergraduate, master's, and doctoral education in public health, health administration, health-services research, policy, and occupational safety. It also offers online study, executive tracks, dual degrees, and certificates in areas including global health, maternal and child health, and health-systems management.

1. 1Texas A&M Healthen.wikipedia.org