Just Beginning
Texas Tech Health El Paso Celebrates New M.D.s at Foster School of Medicine Commencement
Ceremony grows the number of physicians in historically medically underserved regions by 115
Texas Tech Health El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine celebrated its 12th commencement ceremony at the historic Plaza Theatre in Downtown El Paso on Friday, May 24. The ceremony conferred 115 graduates with Doctor of Medicine degrees, fulfilling the dreams of many new physicians and their families.
“This is just the beginning,” said class president Jake DiPasquale, M.D., whose class started school virtually during the pandemic. “It’s been a special journey and we’ve created a unique collaboration and culture together.”
This graduating class also includes 17 El Pasoans.
Suzette Jimenez, M.D., born and raised in El Paso, understands the importance of meeting community needs, and how impactful community support is.
Now she’s ready to take the knowledge she gained at the Foster School of Medicine to a new community. She matched to the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she’ll begin residency training in pediatrics. Her chosen specialty has been a goal since she was 10-years-old and lost her best friend.
“Losing a friend at such a young age deeply impacted my life,” said Dr. Jimenez, a graduate of Socorro High School.
That loss left her with a passion for the health and safety of children, leaving pediatrics as a natural choice for her.
“I was very young, and it was a traumatic experience for me, but I also found a passion through learning about the human body,” said Dr. Jimenez. “One of my teachers recognized my desire to learn more and she used that to help me cope with my emotions through that loss. Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of being a provider who cares for children and their families during tough times.”
As the Foster School of Medicine wrapped up the 10-year anniversary celebration in early 2020 with A Red Tie Affair for a White Coat Occasion, the class of 2024 was starting their medical education journey. Dr. Jimenez was one of seven inaugural recipients of the 10-year Foster School of Medicine scholarship created with money raised from generous community support.
Students from this year’s graduating class have matched to residency programs across the country, including in El Paso – with nine matching at Texas Tech Health El Paso. Silva Health Magnet High School graduate Alyssa Downey, M.D., who did her undergraduate work at the University of Texas at El Paso, is one of those new doctors staying in the community.
Dr. Downey chose the Foster School of Medicine because of the school’s focus on culturally competent care and the difference it makes in the community.
“It meant the world to me having doctors who look like me right across the street,” Dr. Downey said. “Just having a medical school here in our Borderplex, learning to care for patients and about the health disparities on the U.S.-Mexico border, was crucial.
Texas Tech Health El Paso offers 22 residency programs and fellowships, allowing over 320 talented medical residents to train at three major El Paso hospitals. New residency programs in anesthesia, family practice and pathology, and fellowships in pulmonology and critical care, will allow the number of resident slots to grow. Since 2013, more than 800 resident physicians have completed residencies at Texas Tech Health El Paso.
Dr. Downey will begin her residency in emergency medicine, tending to El Pasoans during their most vulnerable moments.
The Foster School of Medicine was established to improve health care in our Borderplex community by helping to grow the number of physicians in our historically medically underserved region.
Before the opening of the Foster School of Medicine, the number of physicians per 100,000 people in El Paso was 75% less than the national average. Since 2009, El Paso County has grown its number of physicians from 1,034 to 1,715, a 66% increase and a direct result of having a four-year medical school and residency programs in the area.
The Foster School of Medicine has evolved as a leader in clinically focused education thanks to hands-on clinical experience for students within their first year of education, an unconventional approach among most U.S. medical schools. The school was one of the first in the U.S. to integrate a medical Spanish requirement, and its curriculum includes a community service component as well as an emphasis on culturally competent health care.
Teaching medical students to become proficient in Spanish for their profession is important in our Borderplex and beyond because of the changing demographic of the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that in just over 10 years, Hispanics will account for 25% of the population.
However, less than 6% of physicians in the U.S. speak Spanish or identify as Hispanic or Latino. Research shows that patients with limited English proficiency benefit from bilingual health care providers and are more likely to understand diagnosis and treatment and adhere to medication. With 30% of Foster School of Medicine students identified as Hispanic, and with all students completing medical Spanish immersion classes, the Foster School of Medicine is transforming culturally competent care.
About Texas Tech Health El Paso
Texas Tech Health El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.
Established as an independent university in 2013, Texas Tech Health El Paso is a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, Texas Tech Health El Paso has graduated over 2,400 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org.