Welcome from the Program Director 

Welcome to the University of New Mexico (UNM) Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency Program. We offer a two-year residency training program for four select residents each year.  

Prevention is the Future of Public

What if, instead of sitting in a clinic waiting room or being hospitalized for preventable illnesses, people could experience the joy of safe environments, robust health, and overall wellbeing? 

Preventive Medicine focuses on the health and wellness not only of the individual, but also of communities and other defined populations. If Preventive Medicine were more prominently in place, the US would show greatly reduced disease, disability, and death. 

Is Your Calling in Preventive Medicine? 

Public health and preventive medicine specialists have expertise in unique areas in medicine. Our residents are given diverse opportunities to gain clinical and public health skills within our curriculum. 

Residents at UNM receive a solid academic foundation in the core areas of public health, apply their skills in a variety of practicum rotations, and develop the ability to perform research through mentored projects and the completion of a degree.

Serving the Under-Served 

We welcome applicants who seek to serve diverse and medically under-served groups. New Mexico has a rural, geographically dispersed population with insufficient access to health care providers. New Mexico is also a “minority-majority” state: 48% of the population is Hispanic, 11% American Indian, and 3.7% mixed-race.  

Public health and preventive medicine training in New Mexico—with our highly diverse population and challenging health disparities—leads to incomparable, enriched learning opportunities. All the while improving the health of New Mexicans. 

If you have any questions, contact us at 505-272-1443 or email our Program Coordinator, Raquel Trujillo at ratrujillo@salud.unm.edu.  

Denece Kesler, MD, MPH  

Program Director