Governor Greg Abbott announced twenty-four grants totaling more than $5.8 million on July 28 to help graduate medical and nursing schools train physicians and nurses in emergency and trauma care, a move state officials said will expand Texas’ healthcare workforce.
According to a July 28 news release from the governor’s office, the funding flows through the Emergency and Trauma Care Education Partnership Program, known as ETEP, which is managed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The program funds partnerships between hospitals and graduate medical programs to increase the number of Texas physicians and nurses trained in life-saving emergency and trauma care.
“Texas doctors and nurses ensure patients have access to lifesaving care when it matters most,” Abbott said in the release. “This funding will expand emergency and trauma programs across the state to provide students with the education and resources they need and strengthen the Texas workforce.”
The grants target high-need specialty areas, the release said. Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Wynn Rosser said the program “supports training for high-need specialty areas, such as emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine and surgical critical care.” Rosser added that having more well-trained doctors and nurses with critical care expertise “will improve the wellbeing of countless Texans and broaden access to emergency medical care across our state.”
The program also supports partnerships that enhance training for registered nurses pursuing graduate degrees or certificates, according to the release.
The effort is not new. The governor’s office noted that the 82nd Texas Legislature established ETEP in 2011 to support partnerships between hospitals and graduate medical programs, with the goal of increasing the number of emergency medicine and trauma care physician residents and fellows.
State officials framed the latest round of funding as an investment in access to critical care across Texas, particularly in the specialty fields where trained providers remain in short supply.