Class of 2021

Class of 2021

Timothy Carswell
Timothy Carswell

Hometown: Longwood, Florida

Undergrad: University of Florida

Grad: University of Florida

Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine 

Favorite thing about El Paso: The people and patients are wonderful and Tex-Mex is awesome.

Hobbies/Interests: Sailing, flying, hiking and camping.

Plans after residency: Fellowship in aerospace medicine.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I’m a licensed amateur radio operator and I plan to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat.

Emily Wagner
Emily Wagner - Chief Resident

Hometown: Shiner, Texas (yes, like the beer)

Undergrad: The University of Texas at Austin

Medical School: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School

Favorite thing about El Paso: Beautiful weather, proximity to the mountains and awesome skiing, and awesome food.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, skiing, college football, traveling and fishing.

Plans after residency: Practice in the community, in Texas, and travel all over!

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I'm a fourth-generation physician.

Ryan Worth
Ryan Worth - Chief Resident

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Undergrad: University of California, Davis

Medical School: Touro University California

Favorite thing about El Paso: L&J Cafe, border culture, my military family neighbors, the El Paso Chihuahuas and Beto.

Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with the kiddos – which means going to the zoo, the library, splash parks, gymnastics and the YMCA for swim. Before kids and medicine, I spent my time reading, gardening and traveling. 

Plans after residency: Stay in Texas for a bit, harness my community medicine skills and work with EMTs and medics if possible. Personally, watch my kids grow and take my wife on a vacation or two. 

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I taught English in South Korea for a year, hiked a big piece of the Pacific Crest Trail and was a paramedic before med school. 

Cory Gottfeld
Cory Gottfeld

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Undergrad: University of Arizona

Medical School: Western University COMP

Favorite thing about El Paso: Tacos, burritos, taquitos.

Hobbies/Interests: Hiking, camping and cycling (the classic EM nonsense).

Plans after residency: See where life takes me.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I'm an EM resident – do I need anything more interesting?

Ricardo Parra
Ricardo Parra

Hometown: El Paso, Texas

Undergrad: University of Southern California

Medical School: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

Favorite thing about El Paso: It’s a really safe and relaxed city, the food and culture are great, 300 sunny days per year, friendly people and the cost of living is low.

Hobbies/Interests: Theater and performing arts, running 5Ks, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and showing off pictures of my cat.

Plans after residency: Stay in El Paso. El Chuco for life!

Something unique or interesting about yourself:  I have a degree in Music (Vocal Performance) and was a high school choir teacher before going to med school.

Keith Weitze
  Keith Weitze

Hometown: Ripon, California

Undergrad:  Brigham Young University

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin

Favorite thing about El Paso: Warm weather and nice people.

Hobbies/Interests: Exercise, computers and snow sports.

Plans after residency: Work in middle USA; somewhere probably in community/county ED.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: We are only limited by the limitations we place upon ourselves.

James Wang
James Wang

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Undergrad: University of Texas at Austin

Medical School: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine

Favorite thing about El Paso: The people, food and nearby mountains.

Hobbies/Interests: Swimming, skiing, music and reading fantasy novels.

Plans after residency: Split my time between Dallas, El Paso and maybe Amarillo.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I played water polo while I was at UT Austin.

Patrick Popieluszko
Patrick Popieluszko - Chief Resident

Hometown: Mount Prospect, Illinois

Undergrad: Loyola University Chicago

Medical School: Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland

Favorite thing about El Paso: The weather and border medicine.

Hobbies/Interests: Lifting, swimming, baking/cooking, hiking and Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Plans after residency: Not decided yet, but I would like to get involved with EMS.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I used to be part of a folk-dance group back in high school and college.

Joseph Martin
Joseph Martin

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Undergrad: Texas Tech University

Medical School: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Lubbock and Amarillo

Favorite thing about El Paso: It’s Texas! El Paso also by far has some of the kindest and genuine people in the world. Also, it cannot be overstated that the unique situation of being in a major city, on the border of Mexico, with another major city creates a complex and interesting mixing of cultures and pathology that makes for an excellent clinical practice and learning experience.

Hobbies/Interests: Outdoors, live music, wine and bourbon, cultural immersion, dancing, practicing my Spanish and dog dad life.

Plans after residency: Fellowship in EMS or critical care, tour of duty with Doctors Without Borders then ultimately academic medicine.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I had to be resuscitated at birth due to being nuchal x3, and this is my second residency – my first being in family medicine.

Sara Mitchell
Sara Mitchell

Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Undergrad: Colorado State University, B.S. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology

Medical School: University of Queensland - Ochsner New Orleans

Favorite thing about El Paso: It’s within driving distance of four national parks and it has the Franklins!

Hobbies/Interests: Skiing, hiking, camping, biking, kayaking, scuba diving and traveling.

Plans after residency: Wilderness medicine fellowship, rural community medicine.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I’ve been cage diving with great white sharks.

Ryan McCallum
Ryan McCallum

Hometown: Alcoa, Tennessee

Undergrad: University of Tennessee

Medical School: A.T. Still University Arizona

Favorite thing about El Paso: Medium-size city with a unique culture and great weather. Best of all, the Franklin Mountains are in town for biking, running and hiking.

Hobbies/Interests: Cycling and picking the banjo poorly.

Plans after residency: Probably community work in the southwest U.S.

Something unique or interesting about yourself: I was a pharmacist previously. I only mention this to let you know that the program appears to value applicants with previous life/work experience.

Sean Grewal
Sean Grewal

Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia

Undergrad: Virginia Tech, GO HOKIES!

Medical school: Ross University School of Medicine

Favorite thing about El Paso: Laid back, mild winters and awesome food in Juárez.

Hobbies/Interests: SFW, playing basketball, motorcycles, traveling and watching crappy horror movies.

Plans after residency: Working somewhere in the lower 48.

Something interesting or unique about yourself: I flipped a cop’s ATV and broke my wrist. It was the first time I ever broke a bone.