Newswise — EL PASO, Texas (Apr. 25, 2023) – The University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso today unveiled MedFuture, a joint initiative that will create a pathway for very highly qualified students in our Borderplex to be admitted to attend college and medical school in their hometown of El Paso right out of high school.

“UTEP has a very strong pre-med program,” said Heather Wilson, UTEP President. “It makes sense for UTEP and TTUHSC El Paso to work together to help El Paso retain the best and brightest future physicians in the region.”

“We’re pleased to partner once again with UTEP, this time to provide an educational pathway for talented local students who dream of attending medical school and serving patients in their hometown,” said Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A., president of TTUHSC El Paso and dean of the Foster School of Medicine. “MedFuture will help us address the physician shortage in the Paso del Norte region while meeting the health care challenges faced by our residents.”

The MedFuture partnership recognizes highly qualified seniors in high school who have expressed an interest in science and medicine — and a strong commitment to serve the Paso del Norte region upon graduating.

While completing their baccalaureate degrees at UTEP, MedFuture students receive strong, foundational pre-med support and enroll in the UTEP PREP summer program to set a solid foundation for their college career. Program opportunities include specialized pre-health advising and mentorship, paid Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) preparation programs, paid summer research experiences and health care immersion internships at TTUHSC El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine.

“Our shared goal is to address our region’s severe physician shortage by educating the next generation of medical professionals, and promoting a medical workforce that reflects the community it serves,” said Gail Arnold, Ph.D., assistant dean of the College of Science and director of the Medical Professions Institute at UTEP.

A joint committee of UTEP and TTUHSC El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine faculty and staff selected the inaugural cohort of five highly qualified students for admission to both UTEP and the Foster School of Medicine. They are:

Makena Piñon was born with a heart defect and was exposed to the field of medicine at a young age, undergoing multiple surgeries – including open heart surgery – and learning about her heart and how it worked. Her passion for practicing medicine locally grew after learning of TTUHSC El Paso’s mission to keep students in the region after graduation.

“As a patient, I have to fly out to Houston for any treatment I may need,” Piñon said. “Not only is El Paso underserved, but it’s underrepresented. Being part of the MedFuture program means that I can continue my education here while staying involved to serve our community.”

The MedFuture initiative is the first of its kind in West Texas, with collaboration from two independent universities on one path to a medical education. Its groundbreaking programming will not only cultivate a deeper interest and understanding of the field, but has the potential to change the life trajectories of local students and their families as they embark on a path to high-income earning careers in medicine here in our Borderplex. Four of the five students in MedFuture’s inaugural cohort are first-generation college students.

“We extend a big congratulations to the ‘first five’ of the new MedFuture initiative,” said Cynthia Perry, Ph.D., Associate Academic Dean for Admissions at the Foster School of Medicine. “We’re excited to work closely with this cohort providing mentorship and professional development opportunities as well as exposing them to the field of medicine through scribing and shadowing internships. MedFuture will help us grow our own future physicians and provide the resources to potentially change their life trajectories and those of their families.”

About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso

TTUHSC 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 college students.

TTUHSC El Paso was established to focus on the unique health care and educational needs of our Borderplex community. In 2023, TTUHSC El Paso celebrates its 10th anniversary as an independent university within the Texas Tech University System. In a decade, the university has graduated over 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers, and will soon add dentists to its alumni.

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.