Dr. Madeline Rodriguez

Dr. Madeline Rodriguez finds inspiration and motivation in her heritage. She was born in Harlingen, Texas – a city in the Rio Grande Valley – and her family is predominantly Hispanic. Her mother’s family emigrated from Veracruz, Mexico, and her father’s side lived in the Valley. When Dr. Rodriguez was 5 years old, the family moved to North Texas.

“Attending the Ursuline Academy of Dallas instilled in me a strong sense of service to others that I would carry into undergraduate and graduate studies,” Dr. Rodriguez said of the college preparatory school. She went to college at UT Austin, attaining membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the National Leadership and Honors Organization Sigma Alpha Lambda. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a minor in government.

Continuing to infuse her heritage into her efforts, Dr. Rodriguez used her knowledge of Spanish to benefit patients at UT Southwestern, including serving as Translations Chair for the community health fair United to Serve, as a Spanish interpreter at a clinic, and as a Parkland Hospital NICU volunteer. She also volunteered with Any Baby Can on Saturdays to help native Spanish speakers learn English, prepare for their citizenship test, and improve their reading and writing skills.

“Maddie has managed to invest in the activities that make her whole – maintaining close ties to her family, obtaining her Spanish language certificate so she can serve as an interpreter, improving Spanish translation of research consent forms so patients would have a greater understanding of their involvement, and creating an ethics curriculum for medical students,” said Dr. Reeni Abraham, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Co-director of the Internal Medicine Clerkship, and one of Dr. Rodriguez’s mentors. “These activities show her true passions and a dedication to serving others.”

Late into her third year, Dr. Rodriguez decided to focus on internal medicine. The complexity, variety, and excitement in taking care of adults, particularly among vulnerable populations, made an impression.

“Some of my favorite patients were geriatric patients – they had complicated medical histories and medication regimens, and low health literacy,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “They needed their doctors to be fierce advocates, to look at the bigger biopsychosocial picture, and to step back and determine how health care could improve their quality of life.”

During her final year, a rotation in geriatrics solidified her direction.

“My experience that month was so enriching – I practiced in public and private settings and went on house calls with our geriatric attending physicians,” she said. “Getting to meet patients where they were opened my eyes to the barriers our older patients face in receiving adequate care and the many roles they play outside of being a patient.”

Dr. Rodriguez’s ability to see the whole person while staying well-rounded earned her the Lorraine Sulkin-Schein Medical Student Award in Geriatric Medicine. The honor recognizes a medical student who has demonstrated compassion, keen

interest, and commitment to the care of older adults. The award is named in honor of Mrs. Schein, a longtime supporter of UT Southwestern who bequeathed funds to promote geriatrics as a career path for medical students. She died in 2007 at the age of 89.

“I was incredibly thankful and humbled at receiving this award,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “Our incredible geriatrics faculty modeled clinical and humanistic excellence in the care of older adults. Their patients taught me to be a better student, listener, and future internist.”

Dr. Rodriguez will begin her internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview in June, where she will be part of the primary care track, hoping to pursue general internal medicine.

“I would love to stay in academic medicine to mentor and teach medical students,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “I also plan to continue to serve vulnerable and underserved patient populations, specifically the Spanish-speaking immigrant communities.”