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Becoming a licensed medical doctor doesn’t end with medical school. It continues with three to six more postgraduate years of study, known as a residency.
And the first residency program in West El Paso is about to bear fruit.
Texas Tech Health El Paso and The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus commemorated a major milestone as the first cohort of resident physicians completed their graduate medical education this May.
“Residency is an incredibly challenging period, but it’s a vital step in transforming medical school graduates into exceptional specialist physicians,” said Richard Lange, M.D, M.B.A., president of Texas Tech Health El Paso. “We’re immensely proud of this first class’s perseverance and the world-class care they provided to patients across El Paso.”
Eight internal medicine residents began their journey three years ago, in the spring of 2021, during the nationwide annual residency match process during their final year of medical school. In partnership with The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus, the university selected these eight for its inaugural residency programs in internal medicine. Psychiatry residents were also selected at that time. They will complete their four-year program next year.
The newly minted doctors arrived in El Paso in July 2021 to begin residency training. Three years of intensive, hands-on clinical experience as staff treating patients at THOP Transmountain followed, which included overnight hospital duty and continuing education courses.
One graduating resident, Dominic Omar Betancourt, grew up in El Paso. He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2013 with a degree in chemistry, followed by his Master of Science at Texas Tech Health El Paso as part of the Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ inaugural class. Before he joined the residency program’s inaugural cohort in 2021, he received his medical degree from the Foster School of Medicine.
Dr. Betancourt plans to work in the field of vascular disease while applying for further training in critical care medicine, a specialty needed for this region. He intends to practice in his hometown.
“So many of the diseases our community faces are preventable if addressed early,” remarked Dr. Betancourt. “Our challenge is providing greater access to preventable health care.”
Being the first, Betancourt’s 2024 cohort set the standard for future residents arriving after him. Not having senior residents to lean on, they leaned on each other, collaborating on establishing a top-tier program that allows residents to seek balance in their lives.
His top advice for this year’s residents arriving July 1?
“Recognize that this time will be the most taxing in your medical career,” he said. “You must find balance and spend time with family and friends outside the hospital.”
“I was once in their shoes,” he added. “I know the value of having a support system.”
A rite of passage
Residencies are a rite of passage where new physicians transform the knowledge gained in medical school into specialized expertise through years of practical experience. Under the guidance of faculty physicians, the workload for this cohort was intense, with residents averaging 40-80 hours per week.
“In the early 20th century, medical doctor trainees used to live in the hospital, literally,” said Sudhagar Thangarasu, M.D., FACP, assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education and director of the internal medicine residency program. “Our program has evolved and has become much more focused on work-life balance. We provide them a curriculum that enables them to train in patient care, focusing on research, other scholarly activities and community service,” he added.
With the graduation of the first residency class, Texas Tech Health El Paso and The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus will continue expanding residency programs to help address the dire shortage of physicians in West Texas. The internal medicine program now accepts 14 residents yearly, up from eight in 2021.
“Our goal with this program is to generate the next generation of health care providers and to give them the training they need to be successful in their medical careers,” said David Byrd, chief executive officer for The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus. “As one of the nation’s newest teaching hospitals, we are excited to be expanding the medical resident program and working to fill a need for our community. We are ecstatic to celebrate the graduation of our first cohort of medical residents and know they are all going to make a tremendous difference in patients’ lives.”
Roots in residencies
Texas Tech Health El Paso started in 1975 as a clinical residency training program associated with Lubbock’s Texas Tech University School of Medicine. As a satellite campus of the medical school, students spent their first two years in a Lubbock classroom and their final two years in clinics, one of which was the Regional Academic Health Center for the TTU School of Medicine in El Paso. It included a family medicine residency program.
Today, Texas Tech Health El Paso administers 15 residency programs, stretching from one end of El Paso to the other. There are 12 at the Alberta campus and three at the Transmountain campus. The Alberta orthopedic residency program is conducted with William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
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.
About The Hospitals of Providence
The Hospitals of Providence covers the El Paso Region to include West Texas and Southern New Mexico. The system includes acute-care hospital locations: Memorial Campus, Providence Children’s Hospital, Sierra Campus, East Campus, Transmountain Campus, Specialty Campus, Horizon City Campus and the Northeast Campus; Diagnostic Imaging Centers; the Emergency Room Montwood and Emergency Room Edgemere; Paso del Norte and El Paso Day Surgery Centers and the El Paso Center for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy; The Center for Wound Healing; Inpatient Rehabilitation Program; Outpatient Therapy Centers; Weight Loss Center East and West. The Hospitals of Providence is dedicated to continuing the over 100-year commitment to the El Paso community.
For more information, please visit TheHospitalsOfProvidence.com.
