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By Steven Bartolotta 

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) announced the creation of the Dr. John Bowling Scholarship, which honors the legacy of one of the greatest advocates for rural communities.

The announcement coincided with National Rural Health Day. The scholarship will assist students who are part of TCOM’s Rural Osteopathic Medicine Program (ROME).

The founder of TCOM’s nationally recognized ROME program, Dr. Bowling took meticulous steps in developing the rural training of osteopathic students. He worked with rural family medicine physicians across the state to create a network of teaching sites that provide students front-line training and experience.

During his 28 years at TCOM, Dr. Bowling transformed how the medical school trained students to deliver health care in rural and underserved populations. People in rural communities across Texas live healthier, fuller lives under the care of talented TCOM rural medicine graduates.

After 18 years of practicing family medicine and obstetrics in rural Ohio, Dr. Bowling joined TCOM’s Department of Family Medicine in 1988 with the mission of developing a rural family medicine track. In 2006, he oversaw the creation of the Rural Scholars Program, an innovative four-year curriculum designed to better prepare students for rural practice.

The fruits of his labor are paying off. Data from 2010-2019 analyzed by Ana Adams, a TCOM four-year ROME student, showed that 41.86% of ROME graduates are practicing in cities with populations less than 50,000. That figure increased to 63% in cities with less than 100,000 people and 61.36% are in a “Medically Underserved Area.”

There is still much work to be done in rural communities, but the efforts by Dr. Bowling and so many are making rural communities better.

If you would like to make a gift to the Bowling Scholarship, please go to www.unthsc.edu/BowlingScholarship.

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