Texas A&M Institute Tackles Stagnation in healthcare: Why Generational Shift is Overlooked
COLLEGE STATION,TX - November 21,2025 – A new institute at Texas A&M University is challenging deeply ingrained norms within teh healthcare system,arguing a critical conversation about generational change is being stifled,hindering innovation and equitable access to care.The Institute for Healthcare Access, led by distinguished scholar dr. A. david sage, aims to break down conventional hierarchies and foster interdisciplinary collaboration to address some of healthcareS most pressing challenges.
Sage, who holds an M.D. and J.D. from Stanford University and previously held faculty positions at Harvard,Columbia,and the University of Texas at Austin,contends that an excessive deference to senior leadership within medicine actively impedes progress. “Stop asking people who are my age what you should do,” he reportedly told a group of first-year medical students. “Talk to your peers in all the relevant professions and figure it out yourselves.”
This internal dynamic, Sage explains, is compounded by external perceptions. “It’s deference within, but it’s also caricature from without,” he said, noting the public often views health professionals through limiting stereotypes. “That kind of thinking is incredibly constraining to every generation that follows.”
The Institute’s work is built on four core pillars: collaborative health policy research connecting medical, legal, and social data; interdisciplinary education across Texas A&M; place-based clinical and community service, notably in Fort Worth; and convenings to foster dialog between leaders, practitioners, and community members.
Sage, a member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the American Law Institute, and editor of the “Oxford Handbook of U.S. Health Law” (2016), believes generational dynamics are central to improving health outcomes and building more equitable systems.He emphasizes his role as a teacher has underscored the importance of recognizing and embracing these shifts.
“Part of it is indeed, I’m a teacher,” Sage said. ”So you experience generational change personally as well as thinking about it intellectually.”
The Institute’s launch signals a deliberate effort by Texas A&M to lead a national conversation about modernizing healthcare through a renewed focus on collaboration and the perspectives of emerging professionals.
