Resident Life

Why military orthopaedics?
The WBAMC/TTUHSC orthopaedic residency offers the best of both worlds. Through our VA patient-sharing agreement, residents have the opportunity to treat service men and women, their dependents and retirees at WBAMC, and all members of our beautiful city (and neighboring cities) at TTUHSC.

What is good about this city?
El Paso, TX, is a city of roughly 830,000 people with one of the lowest crime rate rankings of any city in the US. It is located in west Texas on the border of New Mexico and Mexico, wrapping around the Franklin Mountains which separate East and West El Paso. It is home to Fort Bliss, the third largest active duty army installation with roughly 24,000 active duty soldiers, 43,000 dependents, and over 60,000 retirees and their family members.
Fort Bliss boasts all of the benefits of a large Army installation including Freedom Crossing, a massive shopping and recreation complex, multiple gyms and other sporting establishments. El Paso is home to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) which hosts the Sun Bowl annually for college football fans. The Chihuahuas stadium was recently erected downtown and is home to a minor league baseball team with a major league feel. There are also a multitude of music and show venues, museums, and a city zoo.

What to do while visiting our city?
For the outdoorsman or woman, El Paso has an astonishing number of outdoor recreational activities. The Franklin Mountains house over 100 miles of trails, topping out just shy of 10,000 feet of altitude. A thirty-minute drive East brings you to Hueco Tanks state park, known for world class bouldering, and Red Sands, home to some of the best four wheel off-roading in the state. For the true adventurer, you will find big wall rock climbing and big game hunting in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico just 45 minutes north of El Paso. During the winter months you can travel to the slopes of Sierra Blanca, known as ‘Ski Apache’, for some prime snowboarding or skiing.
El Paso is also a two-hour drive from Gila and Lincoln National Forests in New Mexico which boast great getaways for camping (including hike-in camping), hiking, hunting, skiing. White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad caverns are 3 hours from El Paso. Further north are Santa Fe and Albuquerque for weekend getaways. Additionally, the El Paso International Airport allows travel to several regional cities including Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.