Growing Our Own Starts Here

It’s because we have a med school that I am a doctor

Dr. Jesus Guzman, courtesy of El Paso Inc.

Sometimes you don’t know what you want until you see it.

More than a dozen years ago, I was working at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater, not knowing what I wanted for my future. That changed when the Foster School of Medicine hosted its white coat ceremony for incoming students at the theater.

At the time, I didn’t know El Paso had a medical school. But once I did, I could picture myself receiving a white coat and helping others in my community. Most importantly, I began to dream.

I told my family, “I want to come home from work knowing I made a difference.” The Foster School of Medicine was the way to get there. It was the happiest day of my life when I was accepted.

I’m now in the TTUHSC El Paso gastroenterology fellowship program. But I can honestly say, that if El Paso didn’t have a medical school, I would have never gone through with it.

I’m thankful for TTUHSC El Paso, which in 2023 is celebrating 10 years as an independent university in the Texas Tech University System.

The presence of an academic health sciences center in our hometown is transformative. It allows local students to dream about becoming a doctor, nurse, researcher or dentist. Like myself, they can physically picture themselves on campus and make that vision a reality.

The university has opened the doors by eliminating the barrier that you need to leave El Paso and your family to get a first-class education or pursue a career in health care.

I couldn’t have made it this far without my family by my side, every step of the way.

I didn’t always know the statistics, but growing up in Segundo Barrio, I knew my neighborhood was medically underserved. Before the Foster School of Medicine opened, El Paso County’s average number of physicians per 100,000 people was 75% less than the national average. Today, that shortage has been reduced to 60%.

While addressing El Paso’s health care disparities, TTUHSC El Paso is also helping to diversify health care nationally. According to reports, less than 6% of physicians, registered nurses and dentists in the U.S. identify as Hispanic. On the research side, only 8% of medical scientists identify as Hispanic.

With a student body that’s 48% Hispanic and often first-generation college students, TTUHSC El Paso is reshaping national trends by educating health care workers from our region. Of more than 2,100 people who have graduated from TTUHSC El Paso, 52% are Hispanic.

I’m proud of the path I’ve chosen and proud to make a difference in my patients’ lives.

Many times, I feel my patients see their children or grandchildren in me. Knowing I was born, raised and educated in El Paso lets them know their young family members can do the same. Just like I know my son and daughter can, too.

Jesus Guzman, M.D., is a graduate of the Foster School of Medicine and a fellow in the TTUHSC El Paso Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Gastroenterology.