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There's no Place like Homeby Kimberlee Barbour
Her parents must be proud. Though of modest background (her father is a retired firefighter and her mother a homemaker), they raised a physician, a second-grade teacher and a lawyer. Perhaps their greatest achievement, though, is that all three of their children want nothing more than to spend their lives in their hometown of McAllen. Gomez-Martinez wasn't certain that she wanted to pursue a medical career. When she heard about a program offered by BCM and The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), she made her decision. Lucky for her she applied. She graduated from UT-Pan Am and BCM, completed her residency program at Christus Santa Rosa in San Antonio and now works as a physician in the Texas Med Clinic system in San Antonio. She knew she could make it through the program with her parent's support—support that draws the couple back to the Valley. There was an instant connection when Matthew and Marissa met while medical students at BCM. He jokes that her family's locale wasn't the only reason sparks flew, but for Matthew, whose family is just as tight-knit as Marissa's, it seemed like a perfect match. Because Marissa was a part of the UTPA/BCM program, she had another built-in support system. There were 20 other students in the same honors classes as she, who also were required to take 18 to 23 hours per semester and who knew that their conditional acceptance to BCM was at stake every time they took a test. She refers to the group as her "built-in study buddies." "We knew who to go to for certain subjects and that was great because we were surrounded by all of these really 'brainy' people in our medical school class," Gomez-Martinez says. Having the familiar faces of Drs. Bill Thomson, Lloyd Michael and James Phillips was also a reassurance. During her time at UTPA, the group was required to work with different physicians, also known as preceptors, each summer in the Valley. Preceptors took students on hospital rounds and to the clinics to see patients. The summer before her junior year at UTPA, the group also participated in a six-week summer research program in the Texas Medical Center. "It wasn't until I did my family medicine rotation that I realized I loved working with people of all ages, not just children," Gomez-Martinez said. "In family medicine I can see young and old patients, deliver babies and help people with diabetes and high blood pressure." She sees practicing medicine as a team effort between patient and physician. The more comfortable you can make your patients feel, the more likely they are to share with you. The couple is well aware of the physician shortage in the Valley. More times than not, friends and family members travel to Galveston, Corpus Christi or Houston to seek medical help or second opinions. For now, she is working as a family medicine physician while Matthew is applying to residency programs in South Texas. After surviving the first year of marriage apart—Marissa was doing her residency in San Antonio and Matthew was finishing his last year of medical school at BCM—they can't wait to settle down in South Texas. Marissa's practice will be small, with 'not too many cooks in the kitchen.' Communicating with a small group of physicians would be ideal for her. The couple is even considering opening a practice together. Putting Things Into BalanceIn the highly populated Upper Rio Grande and South Texas regions, the number of physicians per area is lower than the sub par state average. In 1994, to help alleviate the problem, BCM collaborated with The University of Texas Pan American and created the Premedical Honors College (PHC), which aims to increase the number of physicians, particularly those practicing primary care, in South Texas. High school graduates from the state's 13 southernmost counties apply during their junior year to gain acceptance to UTPA and conditional acceptance to BCM. Each student receives full scholarship to both BCM and UTPA. As part of the program, students are exposed to more hands-on learning in clinics and research laboratories. Community physicians in South Texas volunteer their time to mentor PHC students and each summer the students spend six weeks immersed in classroom lectures and rounds at the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center. To date, 81 of the 97 PHC graduates have been accepted to medical school, while some chose careers in fields other than medicine. Others have continued on to graduate studies in the science and allied health fields. Nineteen students have earned their medical degrees and are participants in medical residency programs. Marissa Gomez-Martinez was the first BCM graduate to complete a residency program. Other Educational Outreach ProgramsBaylor has similar collaborations with three other Texas universities: the University of Houston, Rice University and Baylor University. Each program promotes diversity among future physicians. Houston Premedical AcademyUp to 10 seniors from the Michael E DeBakey High School for Health Professions are accepted into the Houston Premedical Academy each year. The Academy, a partnership between the HSHP, the University of Houston and BCM, hopes to increase the number of graduates who become physicians and cater to the medical needs of the Houston community. Medical Scholars ProgramRice University offers more than 50 liberal arts degrees. It is the goal of this program for students to apply insight from a liberal arts degree, rather than an undergraduate science degree, toward a career in medicine. Baylor 2 Medical TrackStudents gain acceptance into Baylor University in Waco and provisional acceptance to BCM. Each of the eight students accepted into the program each year receive an $80,000 scholarship. Baylor also supports medical education at the high school level including schools in Houston, Mercedes. Corpus Christi and Laredo. |
Patient CareResearchThe Next Step in Cancer Research EducationHalf a Century Later... They're Still Giving Back Community ServiceFrom Despair to Hope: BCM Responds to Katrina Alumni & DevelopmentThe Vietnamese Cowboy and the Race Car Driver A Fortunate Life... A Fight Against Cancer College NewsA New Door for the East Campus New Museum to Showcase Maestro of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine: Making a Difference in the Community
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Volume 1, Issue 3, Fall 2005 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Mention anything about South Texas to Marissa Gomez-Martinez and her face lights up. Talk about her family and she illuminates the room.