Rex Paulino, MD, AGSF

Biography

Dr. Rex Paulino completed his Family Medicine residency at West Virginia University, where he served as Chief Resident in his last year of training while completing a longitudinal course in Medical Acupuncture. To further his training in caring for older adults and individuals living with serious illness, he completed a 2-year clinician-educator fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, followed by fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. Paulino has served as the Associate Program Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at UTHealth Houston since 2018 and transitioned to Program Director in 2025. He was recognized by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) as an Emerging Leader in Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2024 and is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS). Dr. Paulino is passionate about teaching all learners, from medical students to physicians. He is the Co-Director of the Geriatric and Palliative Medicine Scholarly Concentrations Program and has been training medical students, residents, and fellows in serious illness communication since 2018.

He is deeply involved in several professional organizations, including the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Chronic Care Test Material Development Committee (TMDC) since 2021 (and serving as committee Co-Chair in 2025), Texas Consortium of Hospice and Palliative Medicine as Academic Chair, AAHPM Fellowship Training Committee, AGS Ethnogeriatrics Committee, and Aquifer Consortium Clinical Excellence Board for Palliative Care.

He firmly believes that not only must physicians transcend merely giving remedies but also adamantly impart knowledge, provide comfort, and consistently render a holistic approach to healing. Outside of work, Dr. Paulino loves spending time with his family. He is an enthusiast photographer, a dancer, a Sith Lord and Mandalorian (when the time permits).