Department of Family and Community Medicine
Dr. Eribeth Peñaranda receives a career development award from the American Cancer Society |
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Dr. Eribeth Peñaranda |
The Department of Family and Community Medicine is delighted to announce that Eribeth Peñaranda MD, Assistant Professor, recently was awarded a career development award from the American Cancer Society. Career development awards from the American Cancer Society are highly competitive, and her mentor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Dr Navkiran Shokar said, “It is a great achievement to be funded on your first submission to the American Cancer Society and a reflection of the superb effort she has put into her research career. This award will enable Dr. Penaranda to undergo a period of intense mentored research and training so that she can develop into an independent scientist in cancer prevention and control.” Dr Peñaranda completed her Family Medicine residency training at TTUHSC El Paso in 2007, and joined the Department as assistant professor a year later. Her project, “Self-sampling for high risk HPV infection among low-income Hispanic women,” has been funded for $300,000 over 3 years. |
Residency Leadership Team awarded grant for procedure clinic |
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Drs. Michael Watson and Oscar Noriega were recently awarded a $50K grant by the Coldwell Foundation to increase available procedural clinic training within the Family Medicine Center. The procedure clinic’s goal is to reduce skin cancer incidence by educating our patients about skin cancer risk and training our resident physicians to perform necessary procedures without referrals out of the Family Medicine Center. According to the latest statistics available from the American Cancer Society and the CDC: In the U.S. alone, more than 2 million Americans will be diagnosed in 2013 with non-melanoma skin cancer, and about 76,690 will be diagnosed with melanoma. The procedure clinics will be available on Wednesday afternoons. |
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Introducing Mr. Hector Rodriguez, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC -
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Mr. Hector Rodriguez |
We are pleased to welcome Mr. Hector Rodriguez to our team! Mr. Rodriguez joined our department as Faculty Associate November 1, 2012, and is a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). He comes to us from Las Palmas Medical Center where he served as a Clinical Manager/Nurse Practitioner for the Limb Salvage Center’s Burn/Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinics, the Las Palmas LifecareCenter’s Men’s Health and Wellness, and for the Bariatric Clinics. He also served as a FNP practicing Internal Medicine and Urgent Care at the First Horizon Medical Center, Horizon City. He has also worked for PediamedNight Clinics in pediatrics. Prior to becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner, he worked as a Wound OstomyContinence Nurse/EnterostomalTherapist and as a medical surgical nurse for Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare and William Beaumont Army Hospitals. In the past, he has also worked as a Rural Nurse/Bush Nurse in Alitak, Alaska, where he provided urgent, emergent, and continued care for employees in the fishing industry, and the Aleut Village Akhiok. In this role, Mr. Rodriguez was the only clinician within a 700 mile radius by way of floatplane, boat ride or Coast Guard helicopter. Duties included first aid to occupational trauma, preventive care, coordination of care with PCP's in Kodiak and collaboration with Coast Guard flight surgeons. Mr. Rodriguez grew up in El Paso, Texas and went to Burges High School. He completed his BSN from New Mexico State University in 2001 and his MSN in Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2009. Mr. Rodriguez is currently completing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of Texas at El Paso and will graduate in May 2013. His interest areas include Men’s Health and Wellness focused on Erectile Dysfunction and Depression, Metabolic Syndrome and issues affecting underserved and indigent populations. |
Introducing Dr. Michael Watson - New Associate Residency Director |
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Dr. Michael Watson |
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Watson to our team! Dr. Michael James Watson joined our department as Assistant Professor and is the new Associate Director of our residency program. He comes to us from the United States Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, where he served as an Active Attending Physician, Associate Residency Director, then Interim Residency Director. He also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor with the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine. He served on Active Duty with the United States Navy in Okinawa, Japan, from 2004-2007 then resigned from Active Duty in 2008 to remain in Federal Civil Service as a Family Physician and Residency Faculty at Puget Sound Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Watson grew up in West Frankfort, Illinois, but lived in El Paso from 1991-1997, where he taught social studies at both Guillen Middle School and Bowie High School. He received a Master of Arts Degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1997, then completed his medical school training at TTUHSC in Lubbock in 2001. He completed his residency training at the United States Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida in 2004. He is married to Cecilia Adame-Watson, and has two children, Alexa and Danielle. His interest areas include adolescent medicine, competency-based residency education, and faculty development. |
Dr. Navkiran Shokar selected for the Future Directions Workgroup for CPRIT |
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Dr. Navkiran Shokar |
The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has announced that 15 prominent Texans engaged in the fight against cancer have agreed to help spearhead four regional stakeholder meetings as part of CPRIT's Future Directions initiative. The group will help distill participant insights and recommendations from the meetings into actionable recommendations that will be presented at CPRIT's 2012 annual conference, to be held October 24-26 in Austin. For more information on this workgroup, please see CPRIT article. |
Dr. Kathryn Horn Selected to Attend Prestigious ELAM Program |
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Dr. Kathryn Horn |
Kathryn Horn, M.D., associate professor of family and community medicine, and associate dean for Student Affairs, TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has been selected to attend the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine. The 18th incoming class for ELAM®, is the only program in the U.S. dedicated to preparing senior women faculty for positions of leadership at academic health centers, where they can ultimately play a role in academic health organizations becoming more inclusive of different perspectives and responsive to societal needs and expectations. ELAM also aims to increase the diversity of women in leadership positions, and to continue to expand its reach beyond the U.S. The class includes women from around the world with various backgrounds and experiences, and from 48 different institutions. Dr. Horn joins 54 other fellows for the 2012-2013 class. |
Introducing our New Chief Residents |
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Dr. Kacie Cassaday |
This year, residents and faculty have selected two strong and mature young physicians, full of energy and vigor to enhance our residency and “raise the bar” to a higher academic level in scholastics, patient care, and clinical education - they are Kacie Cassaday DO and Alba Nidia Nevarez MD. Both share qualities that demonstrate strong leadership and organizational skills, extra-curricular and community outreach experiences, strong academic standing, dedication to teaching, and provide exemplary patient care. Their interpersonal skills are well recognized by their peers, faculty, and staff. Kacie Cassaday DO joined us from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Her interests include watching OU football and basketball, and she also enjoys cooking. She has good company with her cats (Hazel and Stitch) and her husband who is doing his surgical residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. Alba Nidia Nevarez MD is a “home grown” native from El Paso who attended UTEP and graduated from the School of Medicine at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. Her hobbies include dancing, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends. As incoming Chief Residents and in the role of “Junior Faculty” they will lead and participate in endeavors that will continue to improve and enhance our residency curriculum, recruitment, PCMH development, and clinical teaching. They will serve us well as the new Chief Residents for the 2012-2013 academic year. |
Dr. Alba Nidia Nevarez |
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Highlight on Sports Medicine |
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Dr. Arthur (Tony) Islas |
Our Sports Medicine Clinic staffed by Dr. Arthur (Tony) Islas and Dr. Justin Wright was recently highlighted in the El Paso Times. The Sports Medicine Clinic focuses on a number of topics, including exercise physiology, sports nutrition, sports psychology and neurophysiology of head injuries. Please click on the link for more information on the article: El Paso Times |
Dr. Justin Wright |
