Member of the Month: Joaquin Villegas, MD, MPH

Joaquin Villegas, MD, MPH, completed medical school and received his master’s degree in public health just in time to start his family medicine residency program not long before the COVID-19 pandemic began. He volunteered for ICU shifts during residency at UTHealth Houston, where he was grateful for the opportunity to learn procedures and realized a love for academic medicine. He is now medical director at the Outpatient Center Clinic with Harris Health in Houston, as well as an assistant professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, where he previously studied.

Who or what inspired you to become a family physician?
Both of my parents are originally from Mexico and worked in the health care field before transitioning into semi-retirement. While they never steered me toward a particular career, I’m sure they were proud when I developed an interest in medicine.

You recently attended a course held by the National Procedures Institute, which is owned by TAFP. What made you sign up?
I am currently associated with the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston Family Medicine Residency Program, where I serve as assistant professor. Our program is committed to expanding learning opportunities for our residents, so when I saw that NPI was offering a POCUS course, I was eager to participate to gain formal training and bring those skills back to our learners. The course was very useful, particularly the hands-on sessions, which made the techniques more accessible and practical.

NPI offers a wide variety of courses, so I’m going through the offerings for the next few classes, and I’m really interested in the upcoming colonoscopy course.

You are active in TAFP business and will attend AAFP's Congress of Delegates later this year as a Member Constituency Delegate. What made you want to get involved in TAFP and organized medicine and why would you encourage others to do the same?
I really have to thank TAFP for helping me get involved on a larger scale. I was part of TAFP’s Family Medicine Leadership Experience soon after finishing residency, and it was a great source of information and resources in how to make a difference in a way that is meaningful to me as a physician and as an individual.

FMLE taught me how to reach out to our local representatives, how to interact with local media, and even how to write meaningful narratives that we can use to make more persuasive arguments to the elected leaders and the community at large. I’ll even go as far as to say that FMLE even helped me be a better physician, since I can better persuade my patients to stick to the plan we discuss together.

I would really encourage any physician who is interested in getting more involved to try out any opportunity at a local or regional organization and see where it takes you! Not all the opportunities will work out or you might find that it’s not what you expect, but it's all worth it when you find that one organization or role that really speaks to who you are or what you hope to accomplish.

How do you spend your time outside of medicine?
I enjoy exercising and recently completed a triathlon in a team with some of my residency classmates – I did the swimming and running! However, I really enjoy raising public health awareness and getting involved in organizations that help me achieve that.

I currently work with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute where I serve as the Houston alumni’s chapter VP of programming. In this role, I help develop and implement educational programs for young professionals across various fields, with a focus on incorporating relevant health topics. Most recently, we had a program where we discussed women’s health and reproductive health which was very fun to be a part of.

TAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Texas family physicians in TAFP News Now and on the TAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different TAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting TAFP by email at tafp@tafp.org or by phone at (512) 329-8666.