Facilities and Services
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Bryan Williams, M.D. Student Center provides a range of offerings, from structured programs to informal activities, such as intramural sports and sport clubs, group fitness programs, special events, and over 125 student organizations. The state-of-the-art recreational facility is available for students, residents, faculty, and staff. Membership for students is included in the Student Services fee. Admission requires a valid UT Southwestern ID card.
The Animal Resource Center is responsible for the production, procurement, conditioning, maintenance, and health and welfare of animals used in research throughout the Medical Center. In addition, the ARC provides housing facilities, and procedure and surgical suites to support animal research programs. The ARC offers training classes for handling and developing of technical skills for performing work with various animal species. ARC veterinarians are available for consultation and guidance in the selection and use of animal models for research and teaching, conducting research, and teaching projects that utilize animals, and for the sources of specific animal species and strains.
The Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center resources and services are available from your desktop, laptop, mobile device, or in person by visiting two 24/7 access Library locations on campus:
- South Campus (main) Library in E2.200 (Florence Building, Plaza level)
- North Campus Library in NL3.252
The Library’s website is the primary access point, on campus and off-campus (using VPN or EZ Proxy), to resources for affiliated UTSW faculty, fellows, residents, staff, students, and researchers. These resources include:
- More than 305,000 e-books and more than 23,000 e-journal full-text subscriptions
- Specialized databases like ClinicalKey, UpToDate, Scopus, SciFinder, Pivot Funding Opportunities, etc.
- More than 190,000 older print collection items located at the UT/TAMU System Joint Library Facility in College Station, and accessible via interlibrary loan request
- Institutional repository to preserve and house scholarly activity including conference presentations and posters.
Library locations include:
- Computer common areas, including workstations with software applications which support research and clinical care, as well as productivity and statistical analysis software, printing, scanning equipment, and digital media production equipment.
- Group and individual study rooms, tables, study and standing desks, quiet zone study areas, and comfortable couches with Wi-Fi access and vending machines for beverages and snacks in the South Campus location.
- The Archives and Special Collections, which houses our rare book and history of medicine collections.
The staff can assist with training (individual and group) on topics like EndNote, database searching, Evidence-Based Medicine, poster and presentation design. Contact Library staff directly during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling 214-648-2001. Consult the FAQs 24/7 for basic Library-related frequently asked questions. Use the “Ask Us” form on the website or send an email after business hours.
The Office of International Affairs ensures that foreign nationals holding nonimmigrant visas who are at UT Southwestern for the purpose of internships, academic training, research, or employment obtain and maintain legal temporary United States visa status and/or employment authorization, in accordance with federal law and UT Southwestern policies. The Office of International Affairs should be contacted as soon as possible to allow visa and other requirements to be handled with a minimum of anxiety.
The Office of Medical Education (OME) provides academic support for the Medical School. OME professionals collaborate with faculty to design, develop, implement, and manage Medical School courses. OME also prepares instructional materials; incorporates interactive learning techniques; integrates technology into the curriculum; provides data management for educational assessments; and prepares dashboards and reports that are used for monitoring, management, and revision of the curriculum.
OME supports the Medical Education Curriculum Committee and its subcommittees and helps faculty members develop teaching skills, conduct educational research to improve teaching and learning, and develop grants to fund educational innovations.
Student Academic Support Services (SASS) offers a comprehensive selection of resources and support services to enhance student learning and is free to all students. SASS includes the following:
- Learning Skills and Academic Assessment/Advising/Counseling: For students who are experiencing academic challenges, learning skills and academic advising/counseling services (including learning assessment services) are available. This service is also available to students who are performing satisfactorily but seek to improve their technique. Individual instruction and group seminars are presented for the benefit of all students to address common issues such as effective use of resources, time management and test-taking skills. Students may complete self-assessments as part of the seminars to develop insight into their beliefs and behaviors toward learning and resilience. SASS also provides screening and educational assessments (e.g., reading comprehension, information processing and retention).
- Support for Students with Disabilities: The SASS Director is the designated campus Learning Specialist for applicants and students with disabilities. The Learning Specialist facilitates the process for applicants and students with disabilities to request reasonable accommodations and coordinates with the student, the Academic Advisory Committee (AAC), and the program during the interactive process to assess accommodation needs. The Learning Specialist issues accommodation approvals and monitors effectiveness. For students who are approved for a Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA) as a reasonable accommodation due to disability, the Learning Specialist sets parameters for the MLOA, remains in regular contact with the student while he or she is out on leave, and helps facilitate the student’s return to school.
In addition to the services for students in all three schools described in this section, SASS provides specific support to medical students with the following:
- Tutoring (Supplemental Learning) Program: Peer tutoring support for the preclinical curriculum is offered at no charge for all interested medical students. Students are made aware of SASS tutoring services during MS1 Orientation, and receive regular announcements regarding participation opportunities via email, classroom announcements, and in meetings with faculty. Upperclass students with content expertise and teaching experience lead small group sessions on a weekly basis.
- USMLE: Step-1 Preparation: The Director of SASS is the course director for a required pre-clerkship course: Step 1 Preparation. The pass/fail course is offered in six-week blocks from January through May of the second year to provide support and accountability as students prepare for their first national board exam.
The UT Southwestern Simulation Center is one of the most advanced, state-of-the-art simulation centers in the country. This newly opened center enables students to participate in experiential learning while immersing themselves in highly realistic simulated clinical scenarios.
Located on UTSW’s West Campus, the center’s two floors occupy 49,000 square feet. The center is outfitted with diverse environments, including 20 clinic rooms, six inpatient rooms, a full-sized operating room, a trauma bay, an intensive care unit, a robotic operating room, a large multi-skills room and two 24/7 badge access skills training labs. These rooms are equipped with emerging technologies, like a fleet of high-fidelity manikins representing patients from newborns to geriatrics, as well as over 100 different types of procedural-trainers, virtual reality simulators, robotic surgery devices, and cutting-edge medical equipment.
The center creates an innovative, effective, and welcoming space by pairing cutting-edge technologies, diverse environments, world-renowned clinical educators, over 150 experienced standardized patients, and expert simulation staff. Learners can promote the breadth and depth of their knowledge while participating in self-guided education, individual scheduled sessions, or team-based scenarios, thus increasing their ability to perform basic procedures all the way to effectively managing highly complex patients within interprofessional teams.
As an American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute and an American Society of Anesthesiologists-endorsed center, the center is committed to effective education, producing exceptionally trained health care providers who are better prepared and more proficient, improving the care of patients at UTSW, and in Dallas and the region.
Student Health Services and Student Wellness and Counseling, located in the James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center and the Student Support Services “S” Building, respectively, help maintain and promote good health among all students at UT Southwestern. Confidential care is available for students with medical or psychiatric needs.
Students may call Student Health Services at 214-645-8690 for appointments. A health care provider is available full time by appointment. Students may call Student Wellness and Counseling Services confidentially at 214-645-8680 for an appointment with a clinician. A 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis line is also available only to UT Southwestern students at this same number. There is no charge for an initial appointment at Student Wellness and Counseling. Subsequent sessions are billed to a student’s insurance. There are no copays for students covered by the UT Southwestern student insurance plan.
After hours and during weekends and holidays, students may call 214-645-8690 to reach the physician on call in General Internal Medicine. If a student is experiencing a medical emergency, he or she should report to the nearest Emergency Department. For urgent mental health care after hours, call 214-645-8680 to reach the 24-hour crisis line, staffed by off-site mental health clinicians trained in crisis management. Students who are already patients in Student Wellness can reach the clinician on call from Student Wellness or the crisis line staff.
All students are required to maintain health insurance coverage while enrolled at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Students should be knowledgeable about the specific coverage of their individual health insurance plan. Copays are accepted at the time of service, and the student’s insurance will be billed for services in the Student Health and Student Wellness and Counseling clinics. Students are responsible for deductibles and coinsurance, if any.
Records of all students seen in Student Health Services and Student Wellness and Counseling are maintained confidentially, in accordance with applicable law and UT Southwestern policy.
The Transplant Services Center is a clinical and academic service department that recovers, processes, stores, and distributes tissues, including but not limited to corneas, sclera, skin, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular allografts. These tissue grafts are provided to physicians, hospitals, or surgery centers for transplant procedures that restore function, improve the quality of life, and, in some cases, save lives. Other services, including autograft preservation/storage and assistance with the Joint Commission Tissue-Standards compliance, are available to physicians and hospitals by individual arrangement.
Research and teaching tissues are available to the Medical Center faculty and to researchers outside the University on request. The Transplant Services Center strives to contribute to advancements in transplantation technology, as well as clinical care through these cooperative efforts.
To meet the medical needs of the community, the Transplant Services Center promotes public and professional education to increase donor awareness. Transplant Services’ mission is “to provide quality tissue grafts for transplantation, teaching, research, and medical need that is responsive and appropriate to both the recipient need and the donor family.”