UTRGV GME program coordinator is Valley’s first Bloomberg fellow
Ivette Chavarria Torres, a Graduate Medical Education (GME) program coordinator for the UTRGV School of Medicine’s Psychiatry Department, is the Rio Grande Valley’s first Johns Hopkins-Bloomberg Fellow.
Along with the fellowship, Torres will receive a full scholarship to complete a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
In an interview with The Rider, Torres explained her interest in children’s psychiatry and how it ties to public health.
“Childhood is everything,” she said. “It’s the baseline for success.”
Torres explained how child health is related to the five areas of focus in the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, which are addiction and overdose, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, violence and adolescent health.
“A strong foundation begins with that mother-child bond, and even holding your child and not being on your cell phone, letting them see your face, letting them have your own uninterrupted attention, all that is feedback,” she said. “And that’s the message I want to get out.”
Asked what her focus would be during her fellowship, Torres replied she has not decided on whether to focus on child or adolescent health.
“I’m actually developing my plan right now, because I really believe it’s very critical to do early childhood development,” she said. “But then, the adolescent phase is another critical window where things can also go very right or very wrong.”
In the long term, Torres wants to continue health promotion in the Valley and raise the community’s consciousness on both these issues.
The fellowship will also sponsor the Valley’s first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Fellowship.
Torres emphasized the impact in the Valley by saying CAP will help decrease the number of senior residents who transfer to other institutions.
“So, part of our retention strategy is get the fellowship, provide the training here, retain those that want to do child [psychiatry] and retain them in the region so they can serve the children in the Valley,” she said.
The program requires a commitment to public health and collaboration from the organizations that the students work for, according to the Johns Hopkins-Bloomberg School of Public Health website.
Although Torres majored in English and political science at Georgetown University, she never let go of her interest in the medical field, where she now has 20 years of experience.
“I kind of did it backwards,” Torres said. “I have the public health experience and the work experience before the degree. I actually didn’t choose psychiatry. Psychiatry chose me.”
In 2002, a year after moving to the Valley, Torres discovered Harlingen’s opening of the Regional Academic Health Center by the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. She became the first manager for the regional dean’s office. When the center obtained research funding, Torres moved from administration to projects.
“And that was where all the hearts and flowers and fireworks went off for me because the first grant we got was focused on child obesity and child nutrition,” she said.
She worked in the RAHC for 14 years reporting for Dr. Daniel E. Hale, pediatric endocrinologist. Together, they competed for federal funding with projects and had the opportunity to contribute to the National Children’s Study.
Torres also has experience in cancer prevention and industry-sponsored clinical trials.
She is one of the two Texans welcomed to the program this year. Torres joined the fellowship over the summer, working part-time in the professional track to address critical health issues across the country.
She attributes her success to her perseverance and attitude as a first-generation student.
“When anybody doubts you or doesn’t validate your work when you’ve done a good job, you have the power to reject that and to choose a different message for yourself,” Torres said.
Dr. Michael B. Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and senior vice president for UT Health RGV, said Torres and UTRGV SOM employees represent the Valley’s talent.
“Ms. Torres reflects, along with all our other medical faculty, staff and students, the passion for the profession and serving the community,” Hocker said. “I am confident the future of health care in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond is in great hands because of the work and passion our school has.”
