TX med schools face drastic cuts

Texas medical schools feel like the scorned children of the state's education budget. Lost amid the pleas of parents to restore funding for public education, and the demands of college students to preserve financial aid, the state's healthcare institutions say few seem to understand the drastic situation they face. At a time when Texas is grappling with a dire ? and growing ? physician shortfall, medical schools say they won't be able to fully fund the roughly 5,600 students currently enrolled, and could be forced to curb new admissions next year. "We are looking at the full threat of cuts," said Nancy Dickey, MD, president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the A&M System's vice chancellor for health affairs. "We have been trying to assure ourselves that someone understands the depth of the predicament we're facing."