Each year between the second and third year of medical school, students take the challenging Level 1 Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) to measure their didactic level of medical knowledge. This year, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) class of 2008 at the University of North Texas Health Science Center performed best in the nation for all osteopathic medical schools with a 99 percent pass rate and student mean score well above the national average.

“This climb to the top demonstrates the quality and caliber of students who have chosen to pursue their medical degrees from Fort Worth’s medical school,” said Dr. Marc B. Hahn, TCOM’s dean.   “No other medical school — either osteopathic (D.O.) or allopathic (M.D.) — in the U.S. has ever grown its class size by 30 percent while posting the best test scores in the country.  I am proud of the top quality, committed individuals who study in our halls and strive to bring world-class healthcare to the people of Texas and beyond.”

Hahn also credits the faculty and innovative curriculum developed over the past few years for the tremendous growth that TCOM is experiencing.  “The quality of our students, the caliber of our faculty and the creativity of our administrators have made TCOM the best osteopathic medical school in the nation,” Hahn said.

All states require medical students to pass a licensing exam before they receive licenses to practice medicine. The three-part COMLEX series examination usually is taken at the completion of the second year of medical school, the fourth year of medical school and during the internship (first residency year). Scores from the first COMLEX are used by residency programs to select students for interviews and acceptance into medical specialty training programs. The M.D. equivalent is the United States Medical License Examination (USMLE).

More than 600 students are enrolled at TCOM, a growth of 1,500 percent since the school’s inception 37 years ago.  TCOM graduates are in primary care and specialty practices across Texas and the nation.  Along with traditional medical and surgical training, they bring to their patients the unique benefits of osteopathic diagnosis and treatment, and emphasize patient education, disease prevention, good nutrition and fitness.

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