Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD

Assistant Professor and Vice-Chair of Quality, Compliance and Patient Safety, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Fellowship Director, Brain Injury Medicine, McGovern Medical School Faculty Senate Chair, Medical Director, Brain Injury and Stroke Programs, TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital

Email: [email protected]
Phone:   (713) 799-7024
Department Bio

In my role as Medical Director, Senate Chair, Fellowship Program Director, Vice Chair for Quality, Compliance and Patient Safety, and as an assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), my efforts have been focused on issues related to medical student and trainee teaching and learning, as well as promoting quality care and wellness amongst faculty and learners.

My aims in all activities is:
– Embodying an educational philosophy that goes beyond mentorship, but centers on sponsorship, primarily by caring and believing enough in the learner.  It’s giving of yourself, your time, your family to make a difference in someone’s life.
– To reach more underprivileged students and inspire them to be better physicians and to serve communities.
– To further develop the curriculum for Generation Y learners.
– To develop learning opportunities to promote resilience and wellness at all levels.
– To educate others on unconscious bias, gender inequities, and pay gap in the medical field in attempts to work toward equity in medicine.

Past and Current Educational Activities:
– Program Director, Brain Injury Fellowship Program
– Charter member and prior co-chair of Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Committee
– Instructor of Medical History Taking to students in “TIME” Initiative for UT System
– Appointed to Public Health Committee, City of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Transition Team
– Past Co-Chair, PM&R Alliance Continuing Medical Education Committee, 2013-2016
– Committee Planning Member, Comprehensive Review of PM&R Course, 2014 – 2016
– Member, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Self-Assessment Committee, and Self-Assessment Examination for Residents committee with writing on Spasticity, Stoke, and Brain Injury.
– Member, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s Academy Leadership Program.
– Member, Association of Academic Physiatrists, Program for Academic Leadership.

Honors/Awards/Appointments:
– Outstanding Teacher of the Year, UTHealth-BCM PM&R Alliance: 4 times
– Dean’s Teaching Award of Excellence: 3 times
– Physician of the Year, TIRR Memorial Hermann, 2012
– Outstanding Faculty Clinician Award of Baylor College of Medicine-UTHealth PM&R Alliance
– Houston Top Doctor, Houstonia Magazine: 5 times
– Houston’s Top Docs, H Texas Magazine
– Physician of the Year Nominee, TIRR Memorial Hermann: 4 times & MHH-TMC: 1 time.
– Rising Star / Best Doc Physiatry, Texas Monthly Magazine