Class of 2023

Hometown: Bergenfield, NJ

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: Playing sports, anything outdoors, cooking, watching movies, and reading.

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? I enjoy talking and getting to know people, and family medicine gives me the opportunity to form long-term relationships with my patients.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? I wanted to be part of a program that was entrenched in the community, as I feel this is important as primary care physicians to build a strong rapport with your patients. Also, there is an abundance of outdoor activities here so I knew I would enjoy my time outside of the hospital as well. Having the opportunity to improve my Spanish is also a bonus.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Sports medicine, emergency medicine, nutrition

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book:
TV Show: The Office
Book: The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel Brown

Random fact about yourself: I like to make pasta from scratch as a stress reliever

Plans after Residency: Possibly a fellowship, but we’ll see what the future holds!

Hometown: McAllen, Texas

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: Yoga, archery, ice-skating, fishing, traveling, spending time with family

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? The variety of cases, ailments, and patients you can see in family medicine.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? I loved El Paso during my interview. All the residents were so nice and made me feel so comfortable. I also wanted to work on a border town and be able to speak in Spanish regularly to my patients.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Women’s health

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: Flipped

Random fact about yourself: I’m a left eye dominant archer, but am right handed.

Plans after Residency: Continue to work on a border town and be able to speak Spanish to my patients.

Hometown: Espanola, New Mexico

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and my two dogs. I like painting, artwork and reading. I love staying active and spending time outdoors whether it be hiking, horseback riding, camping, hunting, or CrossFit.

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? I chose Family Medicine for the wide range of patients, getting to serve everyone from pediatrics to geriatrics and building a continuity of care with those patients. Family Medicine also provides so much versatility, from becoming a hospitalist, to Sports Medicine, Urgent care, etc. There are opportunities to tailor your practice according to your interests.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? The people! When I interviewed here everyone was so welcoming and made me feel right at home. I was also looking to stay in the Southwest, close to home, and attend a program with opportunities in Sports Medicine and to practice medical Spanish, so the choice was easy.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Sports Medicine/OMT/Preventative medicine/Integrative medicine

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch
“Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” – St. Theresa

Random fact about yourself: I play the piano and used to play the violin.

Plans after Residency: To practice outpatient Family Medicine/Sports Medicine in the Southwest.

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: I enjoy fun activities like yoga, crocheting, hiking, and exploring the El Paso area.

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? Family Medicine has such a broad scope of practice. I am really drawn to the lifestyle medicine aspect as well as the ongoing relationship with my patients.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? I was very involved with cultural literacy population health research in South Carolina and want to learn more about the blend of cultures in this region. In addition, I have a family tie to the area since my great-grandparents loved El Paso and chose to retire here.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS), lifestyle medicine and medical research

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: The Breakfast Club

Random fact about yourself: While I was visiting Rome and looking for somewhere to eat, I unexpectedly ran into Pope Francis’ procession.

Plans after Residency: Traditional family medicine

Hometown: El Paso

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: Watch documentaries, game nights, cooking, reading, traveling

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? I’ve always loved building relationships with people and getting to know them; I’ve worked with underserved populations for years and would like to give back by working with them as a practicing physician. In essence, it’s what I love to do.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? El Paso is my home and my community, I grew up here, I met my husband here and we’ll be starting our family here. It’s a no-brainer.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Global health and preventative medicine, working with underserved communities.

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: I love 12 Angry Men, Coco & The Giver, among others, but those probably top the list! I’m a big fan of authors Abraham Verghese and Sandeep Jauhar and basically any medically related book

Random fact about yourself: I love trivia even though I’m terrible at it!

Plans after Residency: Stay in EP, work in the underserved communities, travel the world and start a family

Hometown: El Paso

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: Going out with friends, exploring the outdoors, video games, and hiking.

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? I love being able to see people of all ages. The broad scope of Family Medicine is what drew me to the specialty. I also enjoy being able to follow my patients and help them improve their health.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? El Paso is my hometown and I couldn’t have thought of a better place to train. The people here are just kind and the Mexican food is the best. Furthermore, with El Paso being a border town, the patient population here is like no other and would definitely prepare me for the future.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Sport medicine and Contraceptive medicine

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: Favorite movie: Jurassic Park
Favorite TV show: Dragon ball Z, Rick and Morty
Favorite book: Jurassic Park

Random fact about yourself: I used to wrestle in high school.

Plans after Residency: I would like to pursue a sports medicine fellowship, or join a group practice of family medicine physicians.

Hometown: Milpitas, California

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: I love to run, go on hikes, cook and create new recipes, read, and binge basically anything on Netflix

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? I like the challenge of practicing within multiple sectors of medicine. I also really value that we can build long term relationships with our patients and their families. It makes coming to work feel familiar and bring back that sense of community that’s often lacking today.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? Border medicine in El Paso is very unique and humbling. I love the fact that I can work with the underserved, learn Spanish and immerse myself in a mix of both American and Hispanic culture. Plus, the mountains are gorgeous.

Professional/Clinical Interests: I’ve earned my MPH with a focus on nutrition and have a vested interest in nutrition and food access within underserved communities.

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book: “Do or Do Not. There is no Try” – Yoda. Life is all about your actions! I’m a magical being and love anything Star Wars and Harry Potter. I’ve recently finished the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall – highly recommend!

Random fact about yourself: I’ve visited 5 continents, 2 more to go!

Plans after Residency: In the future, I plan to develop and implement nutritional education and access programs within the scope of my practice. I’m also interested in possibly pursuing an obesity or integrative medicine fellowship.

Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Favorite things to do outside the hospital: Playing sports, riding my bike, spending time with my family.

What led you to choose family medicine as a specialty? Being a well-rounded physician and continuity of care were important to me when considering my specialty, which led me in the direction of choosing family medicine.

Why did you choose El Paso to train for residency? I chose to train in El Paso because the residency program felt very welcoming. Everyone was very friendly and it seemed like a very caring atmosphere. The program also has a strong sports medicine emphasis that I am interested in as well. I also wanted to work on my Spanish speaking skills and felt that El Paso would be the perfect place to improve my skills in this area.

Professional/Clinical Interests: Family Medicine, Sports Medicine, and urgent Care.

Favorite quote/movie/TV show/book:
Quote: “Good is the enemy of Great” Jim Collins
Movie: Oceans 11
TV Show: Community
Book: The Alchemist

Random fact about yourself: During my undergraduate education, my group of friends and I formed a Jazz band called Table 9 where I played the trumpet.

Plans after Residency: I am interested in family medicine, sports medicine, and urgent care. During residency, I will hopefully have a better idea of what I would like to do. I would like to do periodic medical trips to Latin American Countries to serve the people there and expose my kids to other cultures