The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Brief History
In April 1959 Texas Governor Price Daniel signed House Bill 9 to establish the South Texas Medical School, the first component of the institution that would soon become the Health Science Center. In July 1968 the medical school, now known as the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine (Long SOM), and the Bexar County Teaching Hospital, now known as University Hospital, were dedicated. Thirty-three medical students graduated with the Doctor of Medicine degree in the first medical school commencement in June 1970. Today there are nearly 900 medical students receiving their education at the Long SOM. In 1998 the Texas State Legislature authorized the creation of the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, to be administered by the Long SOM, and in June 2002 the RAHC opened its doors to train third- and fourth-year medical students and residents. The Long SOM continued to operate the RAHC until 2013 when the Texas State Legislature approved the expansion of the RAHC into a separate medical school, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley SOM, which enrolled its first class of 50 first-year medical students in 2016.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Long School of Medicine is to provide responsive and comprehensive education, research and service of the highest quality in order to meet the health-related needs of the citizens of Texas. In all aspects of fulfilling this mission, the Long School of Medicine is committed to ensuring successful achievement of the institutional priorities to:
• Cultivate a pervasive, adaptive and respectful environment promoting diversity, professionalism, humanism, equal treatment and opportunity
• Provide exemplary medical education and training to a diverse body of health career professionals at all levels while fostering a commitment to scholarship, leadership and life-long learning across the educational continuum
• Build and sustain recognized leadership, and advance scholarship excellence across the biomedical and health-related research spectrum
• Deliver exemplary and compassionate health care to enhance every patient's quality of life
• Serve as a responsive resource to address community health needs whether local or global
• Attain health equity for the diverse patient population of South Texas
Accreditation
The Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for accreditation of programs of medical education leading to the M.D. degree in the United States.
Confidentiality
The Long SOM and the health science center will, to the extent possible, maintain the confidentiality of information in accordance with institutional, state, and federal regulations and requirements.
Office of Academic Opportunity and Educational Excellence
The Long School of Medicine (LSOM) is an academic health-related institution that is firmly rooted in its tripartite mission of research, education and patient care and is committed to discovery and innovation, community engagement, and excellence by all of its members.
As the rapidly changing demographics are reshaping the delivery of health care taking place today, we are committed to creating a biomedical workforce and student body that reflects this change.
Programs and initiatives are aimed to meet the needs of our learners and institutional culture in order to build on effective practices that support the success of students, faculty, residents, and staff in academic medicine.