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Record 21 Foster School of Medicine students match to El Paso [1]
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Date: 2025-03-28
It’s called The Match.
It’s the day Joshua Torres, a Foster Scholar and soon-to-be three-time graduate of Texas Tech Health El Paso, and his 105 fellow fourth-year medical students at the Foster School of Medicine have enthusiastically anticipated since their first day of medical school.
They stood together in the auditorium of the Medical Science Building II on the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus, feeling anxious as they watched a countdown clock slowly tick toward 10 a.m. They resisted the urge to peek into the envelopes they held, reminiscent of children gazing longingly at presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.
At the appointed hour, the room erupted with emotion as envelopes were simultaneously torn open. Some students screamed joyfully, others shed tears, and several immediately phoned loved ones who couldn’t attend. For 21 students, they will remain in El Paso to continue serving the community where they trained.
“My dream has come true!” said Torres, a native El Pasoan, after he opened his envelope.
With his mother and brother at his side, Torres reflected on the moment. “I’ll be staying here in El Paso as an internal medicine resident and a future physician for my community.”
Fellow El Pasoan Diana Moreno, a Judy and Kirk Robison Medical Student Scholarship and Aguilar Family Medical Student Scholarship recipient, and her fiancé, Dr. Isaac Gandara, were especially pleased. They both secured a rare residency couples match at Texas Tech Health El Paso in pediatrics and surgery, respectively.
Diana Moreno and her fiancé, Dr. Isaac Gandara, secured a rare residency couples match at Texas Tech Health El Paso in pediatrics and surgery, respectively.
“It felt surreal to open the envelope,” said Moreno, who received a toy stethoscope as a child in kindergarten. “I didn’t know if I was dreaming or if it was real. There was so much joy for both of us.”
Moreno and Gandara will be married in May, with just enough time for a honeymoon before they report for orientation in mid-June.
With medical school residencies, once matched, both the student and the program are bound to honor the placement.
Across the nation and the globe, another 119 medical students have learned they will be coming to Texas Tech Health El Paso to serve as resident doctors at the school’s teaching hospitals and clinics.
“Match Day marks both the conclusion of medical school and the start of a new chapter,” said Dr. Richard Lange, president of Texas Tech Health El Paso and dean of the Foster School of Medicine. “These students have persevered through significant challenges, and while many will continue their training across the country, a record 21 graduates will begin their medical careers here in El Paso.”
Lange noted the progress over the years.
“When I arrived 10 years ago, no students matched in El Paso. Today, 20% of the graduating class will stay in West Texas, where they are most needed. The trajectory of growing our own health care heroes is definitely moving in the right direction.”
Solving our Borderplex region’s provider shortage
Joshua Torres is part of 15 native El Pasoans in the Class of 2025. His journey to medicine was anything but direct.
Torres first voiced his ambition in a fifth-grade classroom at El Paso’s Lamar Elementary School, nestled in the East Cliff neighborhood known as “Pill Hill” for its cluster of medical centers. When he told his teacher he wanted to work in health care, she offered unwavering encouragement.
“My teacher was one of the first to say she believed in me,” Torres recalled. “That always stayed with me. She was one of the first people to truly connect with me.”
Years later, as he explored career paths, Torres found a mentor in Dr. Genaro Vazquez, the husband of the family’s landlord and a respected pulmonologist in El Paso who passed away in 2023.
Under his guidance, Torres took his first steps in health care by enrolling at the Hunt School of Nursing and earning his B.S.N. in 2016. Working as a nurse at the University Medical Center of El Paso, he soon realized that his aspirations extended further. Encouraged by physicians at Texas Tech Health El Paso, he pursued a master’s degree at the Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
El Pasoan Joshua Torres celebrates his medical residency match at Texas Tech Health El Paso.
Now, nearly a decade and three Texas Tech Health El Paso schools later, Torres is on the verge of becoming a physician, adding to his credentials as a nurse and biomedical scientist.
The Foster School of Medicine was established to reduce health disparities in the region. Since its founding, the physician shortage in El Paso County has been reduced from 75% below the national average to 60% – significant progress that each new class of graduates helps advance.
According to the American Medical Association, 2024 set a record with 41,443 students offered residency positions nationwide. Despite this, many regions – particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border – continue to struggle with physician shortages.
An elaborate courtship
The residency matching process begins each October when students apply to the National Resident Matching Program and rank their preferred programs while teaching hospitals evaluate candidates who meet their criteria. After interviews, a computer algorithm matches students and programs based on mutual rankings.
Texas Tech Health El Paso and its associated clinic, Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, employ 322 residents in El Paso-area affiliated teaching hospitals and clinics, including UMC, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and The Hospitals of Providence – Transmountain Campus.
“When our graduates match to a program here in El Paso, these homegrown health care heroes are physicians already familiar with our community’s needs,” said Dr. Charmaine Martin, associate dean for student affairs at the Foster School of Medicine. “In that same light, each new resident who moves to our region from out of state to complete their residency enhances health care access. Regardless of their hometown, they are doctors serving patients who might otherwise go without care.”
“What makes our program unique is our focus on training physicians specifically prepared to address the health challenges of our border region,” Lange added. “Our students receive clinical experience beginning in their first year and complete a medical Spanish requirement that prepares them to provide culturally competent care.”
Growing our own
Here at Texas Tech Health El Paso, we are dedicated to growing our own future health care heroes. To learn more about how Texas Tech Health El Paso is improving lives and empowering generations, visit ttuhscepimpact.org.
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[1] Url:
https://elpasomatters.org/2025/03/28/record-21-foster-school-of-medicine-students-match-to-el-paso/
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