Dr. Beverly Waddleton wants one thing to be perfectly clear.

“They are doctors. They are already graduated from medical school. They already have a license.  They are here to get additional experience,” Waddleton said of physicians in residence at the UT Health Quitman facility.

Waddleton is a member of the faculty and supervises residents at UT Health Quitman. It is part of the University of Texas Health Science Center Tyler (UTHSCT), Rural Family Medicine Residency program. 

“Our program was founded in 2016 with the intent of increasing access to quality healthcare in rural Northeast Texas,” said Dr. Leslie Tingle, program director. “The residency is modeled after the first 1-2 format rural program that began in the state of Washington in 1984. Our academic sponsor is the UTHSCT, an institution active in graduate medical education since 1984. Though we have a close working relationship with the UTHSCT urban program, we are independently accredited. We have a vision and that is to become the most sought-after rural family medicine residency in Texas. We have a great program here in Quitman and want to see it thrive.”  

This is the first year the program has been in Quitman after being in Pittsburg for two years.

“These physicians are looking to go into rural family practice so they are looking to come to a small area like Quitman. They come here and see patients and I see the patient,” Waddleton noted. “I examine some and we go over their plan of care. The days I may be off, Dr. Tingle will come. They are starting to come all day Tuesdays to be able to see more patients.”

Two of those seeing patients in Quitman at the hospital clinic are Dr. Moises Plasencia and Dr. Christian Ferrer. They will be serving here until July. Dr. Anna Hollingsworth and Dr. Amanda Traylor rotate with Plasenica and Ferrer. The doctors are here during their second and third years of residency. 

“After three years it’s all over. They take a board test that makes them board certified,” Waddleton stated. “That’s the only purpose, besides more training, is to become board certified. Now days with insurance plans and hospital privileges, more people are board certified. They could go out into practice if they wanted to. They have to see a certain number patients. With the retirement of some of our local doctors, we have been hurting for doctors. The program is really a good one for Quitman.”

“Patients around here have to get used to not seeing the same doctor each time,” she said. “Those doctors will be supervised. My patients know that I am going to be there so they expect to see me. We see the patients together or I can come in and speak and tell them what’s going on. Sometimes a patient may refuse to see a resident and I’ll do those.”

Waddleton is thankful the program is connected to UT Health and is in Quitman.

“We would not have this opportunity for the residents to come if not connected to a larger community of education and service. There is the possibility of one or even more of them might decide to stay in Quitman,” she reflected. “They must decide if that is what they really want to do. Maybe we can offer them some incentives, which may be a possibility, if they decide they want to stay. They stay here with us and they find out what all to expect. It’s been a problem in the past, someone will stay anywhere from a year to three years and then they are gone.”

Waddleton said the need for primary care is essential.

“You can have all of the specialists you want, but if you don’t have primary care physicians to feed those specialists, they can’t survive and the hospital can’t survive,” Waddleton pointed out. “Just look around us at all the rural hospitals closing and we are still here.”

The long time Quitman doctor feels the residency program is a plus for Quitman.

“This program is good. If the citizens will accept the care of the residents, I think it will keep going. Now if a patient decides they don’t want to be seen by a resident, or just refuse to do so, then we are going to have a problem,” Waddleton observed. “People must understand these people are doctors and will give them good care. The program gives us needed physicians for our area and our county. So far, it has been great!”

The UTHSCT Program in Tyler offers a comprehensive approach to learning, according to information on its website. The environment provides unopposed training, a well-balanced lifestyle, and a wide variety of clinical pathology to prepare a person for any practice setting. In fact, graduates have found fulfilling careers in healthcare as sports medicine physicians, obstetricians, hospital administrators, emergency room physicians, hospice specialists, academic faculty, geriatricians and traditional family medicine clinicians. 

The program offers training in the UT Health East Texas system, which consists of 10 hospitals and more than 50 clinics, so residents are working in multiple settings, both urban and rural, providing unique training opportunities. Additionally, the flagship hospital of the system, located in downtown Tyler – UT Health Tyler – is a Level 1 trauma center, where family medicine residents have the opportunity to work with specialists and participate in procedures. The residents gain confidence with central lines, chest tubes, intubations, codes, and much more.

The goal is to prepare family physicians to thrive in rural medicine practice, to develop and maintain exceptional work-life balance and to improve the health of rural populations while helping to eliminate health disparities.