J.B. Alexander Health Magnet Students Matthew Wong, George T. Pugh, Marcus Wong, Alejandra Torres, Stephanie Ortiz and Curtis Stacey visit with David Jones, Ph.D., associate dean of the School of Medicine.
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Contact: Rosanne Fohn, 210-567-3079

Nearly 70 administrators, counselors, teachers and students from Laredo middle and high schools attended an Orientation to the Health Sciences on Dec. 5 at the Laredo Campus Extension of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 1937 Bustamante Street.

The purpose of the orientation was to present the opportunities available to Laredo students in the health professions and how they can better prepare students for acceptance into the UT Health Science Center.

South Texas needs more health professionals
“South Texas is a medically underserved area, which means there are not enough medical and health professionals available in South Texas to care for patients,” explained David Jones, Ph.D., professor in the department of anesthesiology and pharmacology, associate dean for School of Medicine admissions and executive director for Health Science Pipeline Programs. “One of our missions at the UT Health Science Center is to interest, encourage and mentor students from South Texas who are interested in pursuing a degree in the health sciences with the hope they will return to provide health care to South Texas communities.”

Assistant and associate deans make presentations
Assistant and associate deans from the Health Science Center’s schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health sciences and graduate school of biomedical sciences discussed career opportunities and gave insight into avenues of acceptance into the professional schools.

Health Science Center offers encouragement and opportunities to students
Representatives from the Health Science Center’s Med Ed Program and Office of Recruitment & Science Outreach also made presentations. The Med Ed Program in Laredo offers area high school students activities including academic enrichment, writing and standardized test workshops, volunteer opportunities in the health field and a summer preparatory academy. The Office of Recruitment & Science Outreach offers mentorship opportunities, field trips, special programs and the annual Allied Health Sciences Fair & Science Expo to give prospective students a hands-on experience.

School counselors see value in the presentations and opportunities for students
Annette K. Salinas, a counselor from J.W. Nixon High School, said, “I left with a wealth of information which I will be able to use with the students in class presentations.” She added, “I truly enjoyed all of the presenters. Every one of them reflected a passion for their programs and a personal commitment to recruitment. It was obvious to me that everyone is invited and motivated to pursue their careers, including minorities, women and economically disadvantaged students.”

“Laredo is a community with many first-generation high school graduates and first-generation college students,” said Carmen Castillo, a counselor from United High School. “We are a community that is underserved by health care professionals. The efforts by the Health Science Center will hopefully yield more local medical professionals to serve our community.”

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $536 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $14.3 billion biosciences and health care industry, the leading sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.