Higher learning — The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center set a new enrollment record with 4,500 students in the fall of 2014.
It’s 6:13 a.m., and Travis Warmoth is pulling on his lab coat.
The Lubbock native said he rarely sees the sun rise. Rather, his mornings are spent examining DNA with a careful eye and a microscope.
Warmoth, a graduate student studying molecular pathology, said his one-year master’s program has offered important experience and a strong chance of laboratory job placement at an accelerated rate.
“It’s just rushed,” Warmoth said. “Like, this semester I’m taking 18 hours.”
The advanced program also offers learners an alternative to a traditional medical studies; a path that is becoming increasingly more expensive.
Chris Zysk echoed these statistics. Zysk, a student leader in Warmoth’s lab section said he attended a national conference on challenges faced by those undergoing medical training before committing to the molecular pathology program.
“It’s a burden on a lot of prospective students,” Zysk said. “More kids want to go to medical school each year, even more than the cost is rising. Some just can’t.”
Zysk serves as the class historian and plans to attend medical school after earning his master’s degree.
An Association of American Medical Colleges study concluded the median cost of attending four years at a public medical school has increased by more than $90,000 between the years 2000 and 2012.
Between the years of 2011 and 2013, the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center accepted 7096 applicants. Warmoth’s program has included 83 of those students.
Warmoth’s time is divided among lectures, exams and lab work. The amount of time spent each day in the lab is entirely up to each student, he said.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go in on my own time,” he said. “If I screw up, I’m responsible for coming in and fixing that.”
Although he finished an undergraduate degree in biology in three years, Warmoth said self-motivation remains his greatest challenge.
“One of my classes, we have no lecture for. So you’re responsible for reading the book and taking the exam on your own,” he said. “When you’re not in class it kind of creeps up on you. I’ve been getting better at that though.”
A lab error earlier in the semester, which starts mid-summer for those in Warmoth’s program, brought about a valuable lesson.
“It was grim, man,” Warmoth said.
While isolating DNA purities, Warmoth accidentally added dye to the wrong row of test tubes, ruining his control sample and invalidating hours of labor.
“A 10-second lapse of consciousness resulted in me having to do about eight more hours of work,” he said.
Precision — Travis Warmoth injects a sample of DNA with dye. Photo by Chris Zysk
Between 2011 and 2013, three students hung up their lab coats after facing academic dismissal from the molecular pathology program.
While some may take errors like this to heart, Warmoth said he prefers to let it serve as a reminder to maintain vigilance.
“My professors always say, ‘hurry up and wait.’ Because you’re doing all this stuff, you’re really, really busy, and then you put it in an incubator for an hour,” Warmoth said. “It’s in those moments that you can just have a lapse of consciousness and make a big mistake.”
Hurry up and wait — Students gather around the lab’s DNA synthesizer. Photo by Chris Zysk
Warmoth plans to graduate in Spring 2015 and work in the field of molecular pathology before applying to medical school.
Another student said she is striving to overcome difficult circumstances while seeking an education at the Health Sciences Center.
Lauren Germain, a senior from Austin, Texas, studying physical therapy, said she’s had difficulty transferring her studies.
Germain said gaps in lessons have made balancing the different disciplines difficult.
“I wish that they would cater a little bit more to us,” she said.
Germain said she’s also having difficulties scheduling her classes around work, which makes relevant experience difficult, she said. Most of her class times conflict with any possible employment opportunities in her field of study.
Over the past three years, nine physical therapy students left the Health Sciences Center — citing personal reasons. Another three faced academic suspension.
“I’m a fighter,” Germain said. “I might struggle, but I’ll never quit. I mean, this is my dream.”
While these courses may feel arduous, Germain said she does feel like her time in the classroom is well spent.
“I’ve definitely gotten a better grasp on health care in general,” she said. “We’re learning a lot about health care reform, which is a huge thing.”
Germain said she plans to graduate Spring 2015 before pursuing graduate studies in physical therapy at the Health Sciences Center.
Master’s programs like these account for more than one half of students admitted to the school in the years 2011-2013, and the number is on the rise, according to a school enrollment report. Across the country, medical schools are expanding similar programs to meet a flood of new applicants.
Perfect Attendance — Student Parking at the Health Sciences Center is full, even on a rainy day.
“I feel like I would never get bored,” she said. “If I do, I can stay in the same field and just do something completely different.”
Buehne said she plans to continue her studies at Texas Tech after graduation in May, pursuing a master’s degree in speech-language pathology.
Earlier in the semester, Buehne took the Graduate Record Examination, a test designed to determine proficiency for graduate school applicants. The speech, language and hearing graduate program accepted 379 applicants between 2011 and 2013. If accepted, she would be one of less than ten focusing on pathology.
“I did really well,” she said. “I’m not trying to brag about myself.”
Buehne’s program requires undergraduates to complete more than 20 hours of clinical work, she said.
“Each week, we give a therapy session,” Buehne said. “It’s really scary, though. I don’t feel grown up enough to do it.”
The rigorous educational standards employed by the Health Sciences Center aren’t for everyone. Travis Warmoth said his experiences at the school so far have left a lasting impression on him.
“I learned the hard way that if you don’t stay organized and focused the whole way through, you’ll make a mistake.”
With the spring semester beginning, a new group of students have begun studies at the Health Sciences Center.
About David Talley
