Testimonials
Giselle Guerrero, MD
Intern Class of 2022
“My time as an Internal Medicine prelim at UT Health SA helped mold me into the dermatologist-in-training I am today. The first year as a physician is integral in learning the art of patient care. I am thankful for the numerous clinical styles that I was exposed to and still use today to navigate my patient relationships and the diverse pathology I encountered.
I am training at one of the top academic centers in the country for dermatology and my intern year trained me in efficiency and ensured that I was comfortable with the wide array of patients I come into contact with. Upon completion of the year, I could confidently manage most routine general medicine complaints with minimal supervision. I was also able to take Step 3 during that year comfortably.
I am grateful for my strong internal medicine foundation when managing complex medical dermatology patients and rounding on our consultation service on the wards. The cherry on top was my amazing class of co-residents. Going through the challenges of intern year together is a deep bonding experience, and I absolutely made lifelong friendships. I couldn’t speak more highly about the program and am proud to be an alum.”
Juan Rico Mesa, MD
Residency Class of 2021
“Training in internal medicine at UTHSA has been the best academic experience I have had during my training journey. As an intern, UTHSA provided me with the tools to become a confident physician, and allowed me to work with top physicians in the country and find robust, long-term and meaningful mentorship.
As an upper-level resident, our internal medicine residency program was flexible with our long-term goals; I was encouraged to take electives in my areas of interest (i.e Heart Station/Echo lab, Airway elective, POCUS, away rotations, clinical research, procedure team) and allowed me to pursue my goal of becoming a well-rounded internist and a future successful interventional cardiologist. I know that many programs have very good things to offer, but what makes UTHSA stand out and makes it the best program in Texas is its supportive leadership within the residency program, who always go out of their way to support us.
When it comes to the fellowship transition, I felt solid and confident making the transition. I was highly well-trained in procedures and ready to perform multiple central/arterial access confidently, with additional knowledge in cardiac imaging, comprehensive knowledge in critical care medicine, and overall medical knowledge, which made my IM board preparation a doable experience during fellowship.
Among the things I like the most about UTHSA is the collegiality, no matter where we went for fellowship, we all keep in touch and are thankful for the physicians UTHSA made of us. We enjoy keeping in contact with our attendings and mentors over time, and we definitely hope to join back as faculty one day.”
Ali Hussein
Residency Class of 2019
“I believe my training at UT Health San Antonio opened a lot of doors for me. Initially it wasn’t very clear to me what I wanted to do after residency, but having all the fellowships available and the ability to interact with the fellows, gave me a significant exposure to these subspecialties, and the ability to do different electives was an excellent way to experience those subspecialties in a more detailed way.
The other important aspect of training at UT Health San Antonio is having your training in a county hospital and also at a VA hospital, that helped with significant exposure to diverse and underserved population and different pathologies including rare ones as well, and I will always remember my 23 years old man with pulmonary-renal syndrome I took care of during my ICU rotation in my intern year, his survival through a complicated case of Goodpasture syndrome made me think of rheumatology as a career path seriously.
The things that I had in my residency that I think helped me thrive through fellowship was the amount of exposure to different pathologies, and also the work load that you have to go through, it significantly improves your efficiency, and the fact that you have such a wonderful support system from your leadership, your faculty, and your co-residents and interns was an essential part to be able to go through the rigors of residency and be the best version of yourself.
Another important aspect was the significant amount of POCUS training, during your elective and also during your ER and ICU rotation, it makes you become more familiar with using ultrasound in general, and that helped me a lot in my rheumatology fellowship as well. Not to mention the availability of procedures training, as I had the chance to do many joints injections during my residency even though it wasn’t required; everything is available if you are interested.
All in all, if I were given the opportunity to choose my training again, I wouldn’t think twice before choosing UT Health San Antonio again.”