Raul Villacreses, MD

Raul grew up in Guayaquil, located at the coastal part of Ecuador, and even as a child was passionate about learning. He often accompanied his father, a physician, to the hospital and to patient homes, and became interested in the human body and how to treat diseases He majored in Computer Sciences when he was in High School, but changed his mind during his final year and pursued the path of becoming a doctor. He received his medical degree from Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil in 2008 and then worked as a general practitioner of a small town called Chongon.

Raul always planned to come to United States to continue his medical training and as soon as he finished his rural year he moved to New Jersey and spent time studying for the USMLE exams,. During this time he worked as a medical instructor and taught international medical graduates and medical students. He chose The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics internal medicine residency program because it was able to provide not only strong medical knowledge, but also excellent research opportunities and, above all, a program that cares for residents.

In medical school Raul met his wife, Vanesa, who was his class mate and his co-worker during their rural year. They had their first child, Raul Alejandro, in October 2009 and their daughter Clara Emilia, in January 2014. While Raul is not working he likes to spend as much time as possible with his family, They enjoy biking together to downtown Iowa City downtown to do numerous activities, including eating frozen yogurt.

Raul’s passions for medicine and for teaching continue to grow. He enjoys the interactions with his patients and all other team members. As a chief resident, he looks forward to helping and guiding residents and medical students in every aspect of their training.

After finishing his year as chief, Raul plans to pursue training in Pulmonary/Critical Care.