San Antonio internist Jayesh Shah, MD, knows what it’s like to be the first doctor in one’s family, with no one to look to for advice.
He also understands the power of representation, of seeing someone from a similar background wearing a white coat.
Dr. Shah’s recent work with a Latina medical student in his practice is just one example. Her Spanish language skills and cultural competency are assets, especially in San Antonio, which is a majority-Latino city. But her presence also signifies to his young patients that they, too, can grow up to be physicians.
“When the Hispanic kids come in the room, they’re excited to see her,” he said.
For these reasons and more, Dr. Shah is a champion of the Texas Medical Association’s recently renamed Diversity in Medicine Scholarship program, which aims to boost underrepresented applicants to Texas medical schools, physicians caring for medically underserved populations, and diversity within the physician workforce.
“The patient population [and] the social demographics in Texas are changing, and we need to have physicians that resemble these demographics,” said Dr. Shah, who serves on the TMA Board of Trustees and chairs its Educational Scholarship and Loan Committee.
In September, the TMA Board of Trustees approved renaming the former TMA Minority Scholarship upon recommendation from TMA’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force.
Dr. Shah described the name change as a big step, one he is proud of TMA for taking.
“[Eligible applicants] may not have anyone in their family as a physician, and they may also have financial hardships that make it hard to go to medical school,” he said. “Having this [scholarship] program really helps them, and having the right name that resembles the work is really important because it tells us what we have this [scholarship] program for.”
And Dr. Shah adds there’s still plenty of room for the program, and Texas’ physician workforce, to grow. “Not just from a scholarship standpoint but all the way up to the leadership level, to have more diverse physicians all the way.”
Where are they now?
TMA created the scholarship program in 1998 and since then has awarded 195 scholarships totaling over $1.4 million. One $10,000 scholarship goes to each Texas medical school. Recipients are known as “Bayardo scholars” in recognition of the majority of funding support provided by the TMA Foundation Trust Fund of Roberto J. Bayardo, MD, and the late Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo of Houston. (See “How to Apply,” right.)
Scholarship recipients say the program not only lessens the financial burden of their medical education, which nowadays averages $200,000, but also serves as proof of TMA’s commitment to a diverse Texas physician workforce – one they also note has grown more representative of the state population in the years since they attended medical school.
Ricardo Alfaro Zeledon, a rising medical student from Dallas, shares that vision. He was one of 15 TMA Diversity in Medicine Scholarship recipients selected in 2022 for their academic achievement, commitment to community service, and desire to care for Texas’ increasingly diverse population.
Mr. Zeledon graduated from Texas A&M University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and is currently in his first year at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He aims to become a primary care physician, with a focus on underserved Texas communities.
“I believe we are a product of our environment. Therefore, our uniqueness is derived from our experiences,” he said, adding that diversity of experience only strengthens the physician workforce.
“A diverse group benefits from having various perspectives, which allows for problems to be solved more efficiently,” he said.
Here are more perspectives from earlier scholarship recipients who are now part of an increasingly diverse Texas physician workforce.
Gradie Moore, MD: Kinship With Patients
Wichita Falls obstetrician-gynecologist Gradie Moore, MD, can’t remember exactly how she learned about TMA’s Diversity in Medicine Scholarship – perhaps it was a Google search – but she’s grateful to have received it in 2004 before she matriculated at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) School of Medicine in Galveston.
“It was huge,” she said of the scholarship’s impact. “I knew that my parents wouldn’t be able to help [with tuition].”
Dr. Moore first became interested in medicine as a middle-schooler. But she was drawn to her specialty after she became pregnant during her first year in college.
Now, a decade into practicing medicine, she is helping to inspire the next generation of OB-Gyns. As the first Black female physician at her practice, she notices that some patients seek her out because they share her race and gender.
“You automatically feel a certain kinship … with someone you can relate to with the same background,” she said.
Dr. Moore also fields questions from patients who want to pursue their own careers in medicine and says it’s critical that they see themselves represented among physicians. (See “Diversifying the Workforce,” page 13.)
“If people can see it, then they can believe they can be it,” she said.
For instance, Dr. Moore points to the increasing numbers of Black students who pursue medicine. When she matriculated at UTMB in 2004, there were 15 Black students in her class, according to a TMA analysis of Association of American Medical Colleges data. By 2020, there were 75 Black students in the first-year class.
“I don’t think that we’re necessarily representative of the population that we serve,” she said. “But I’m glad to see that those numbers are increasing.”
Alan Coleman, MD: Motivation to Continue
Wichita Falls trauma and acute care surgeon Alan Coleman, MD, received a TMA Diversity in Medicine Scholarship in 2005, ahead of his matriculation to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock.
Like Dr. Moore, he says the scholarship offered a financial lifeline as well as a sense of support as he embarked on a career as a physician.
“Every medical student makes a decision, consciously, to go into school knowing they’ll have a considerable financial debt,” he said.
In addition to relieving some of this pressure, Dr. Coleman says the scholarship provided intangible benefits.
“It tells you that other people in your shoes have gone through this, and there is support available,” he said. “That in and of itself gives you motivation to do what has been done and continue this process going forward.”
After medical school, Dr. Coleman spent time in Ohio, where he did pediatric and fetal surgery research as well as a surgical critical care fellowship. Today, he practices in a small community in North Texas, where many of his patients come from underserved groups. These include airmen and foreign patients from the nearby Sheppard Air Force Base, as well as patients who are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid or who are uninsured.
“It’s a fairly diverse population for a smaller city,” he said. “Just based on the insurance makeup, I think it probably does represent quite a bit of the lower-income end of the spectrum.”
In the years since he received the scholarship, Dr. Coleman has had time to learn more about TMA and its advocacy.
“It made me think about the [association] as proactive, and, if I came back to Texas, I would want to pay it forward,” he said.
Dr. Coleman has made good on this promise. Earlier this year, he graduated from TMA’s Leadership College, a nine-month program that prepares young physicians for future leadership in organized medicine at the county and state levels. He also served in TMA’s House of Delegates during TexMed, TMA’s policy-making conference, in April.
He encourages prospective applicants to take an interest in TMA, not only because of the scholarship program but also because of what the association can provide throughout their careers.
“You can practice worry-free knowing that TMA has your back,” he said.
Rudy Herrera, MD: An Evolving Purpose
Keller pain management specialist Rudy Herrera, MD, was one of three recipients of what is now TMA’s Diversity in Medicine Scholarship during the program’s inaugural year in 1999. Although his career has unfolded in unexpected ways over the past 23 years, Dr. Herrera says his goal has remained the same: to care for underserved patients.
Growing up in inner-city San Antonio, Dr. Herrera’s earliest memories include attending a Head Start program that was housed in a community clinic.
“I remember getting our vaccines there,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
With his spark for medicine ignited, Dr. Herrera sought out opportunities to learn more. After graduating from high school, he spent the summer working at an inner-city community clinic near one of the oldest public housing complexes in Texas. Despite the intense heat, he remembers the experience fondly.
“It was down the road, and I had such a good time,” he said.
Dr. Herrera wrote about the clinic in his scholarship application essay. He later flew to Dallas to attend TexMed, where he was announced as one of the recipients.
The scholarship helped him make ends meet during his four years at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. But he says its impact has extended beyond his school days.
His initial goal – to practice primary care in an inner-city community like his own – evolved. After completing his residency in family medicine at JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, he did additional fellowships in sports medicine and pain management, which altered his outlook.
“It just morphed from inner-city communities to people who had no other resort,” he said of his ideal patient population.
Dr. Herrera now owns a family practice and pain management clinic in Keller, which allows him to combine his primary care and sports medicine interests with his commitment to medically underserved patients. And he finds added fulfillment as a business owner in hiring employees who share his interest in meeting the same type of critical need he sought to fill.
“The people with chronic pain are, for lack of a better word, stigmatized by the health community, by pharmaceuticals, [and] unfortunately by other doctors,” he said.
Dr. Herrera’s younger self might be surprised with his current career, in a suburb 300 miles away from his hometown. But he says his guiding principles have remained the same, regardless of his specialty or location.
“It’s just a constant sense of evolution,” he said.
