DSWOP endows Drs. Dralves and Jessica Edwards Scholarship
Honoring one of the pioneering families at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, the Dallas Southwest Osteopathic Physicians, Inc. (DSWOP) has endowed a scholarship honoring Drs. Dralves and Jessica Edwards.
The fully funded $25,000 scholarship was generously donated by DSWOP, who will be the presenting sponsor of TCOM’s 50th Anniversary celebration in May.
DSWOP’s generous support of TCOM over the years underscores the organization’s commitment to osteopathic medicine, and this new scholarship highlights the collective effort of the DSWOP Board to advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) within the medical community.
Dr. Dralves Edwards was the first black student to graduate from TCOM in 1980, and 34 years later, his daughter, Dr. Jessica Edwards, followed his example and earned her doctorate in 2014. They represent TCOM’s first African-American parent-child legacy.
Dr. Dralves Edwards was a pre-med major at North Texas State University in the early 1970s and graduated in 1973. He earned his master’s degree at Prairie View A&M and was admitted to TCOM in 1976.
He graduated in 1980 and has four decades of medical experience ranging from Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine and Family Medicine. He is board certified by the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and the American Board of Sports Medicine, and is a Certified Medical Director of the American Academy of Home Health Care Physicians.
He was named as the Dallas Urban League’s “Father of the Year” in 1992 and as the Duncanville Chamber of Commerce Leadership “Man of the Year” in 1994. He was honored with Duncanville’s “Key to the City” in 2004.
Since 2004, he has practiced Emergency Medicine at Level III and IV trauma centers across the North Texas region. He is currently the Methodist Southlake Site Medical Director and practices with the Dallas Medical Center Emergency Department.
Dr. Jessica Edwards is practicing family medicine in New Braunfels, Texas, and earned her Master of Science degree from HSC’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2010. She is board certified in Family Medicine and OMT by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians.
She completed her residency in Family Medicine at Care Point Health in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 2016, she received the American Osteopathic Foundation/American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians “Outstanding Resident in Family Medicine” award.
She served on AACOM’s prestigious Osteopathic Health Policy Fellowship. She was presented with the National Medicine Association’s “Post Graduate Top Healthcare Professional Under 40” award in 2019. In 2020, she was a keynote speaker at the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association Midwinter Conference. She is the founder and CEO of Zara Medical Aesthetics and is currently practicing Family Medicine.
To help support the DSWOP DE&I Scholarship honoring Drs. Dralves and Jessica Edwards, please visit: unthsc.edu/give/give-now.
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