What do you do now?

I am the Family Medicine Residency Director and Chief of Family Medicine at Natividad in Salinas, California. I still practice full-spectrum family medicine—delivering babies, doing hospital work, and managing my own continuity practice. I also teach abortion care and get to do all the fun things in family medicine. Additionally, I run a residency program at Natividad.

What attracted you to Brown FM residency?

I was really drawn to being in a program that trains people for full-spectrum family medicine care. It was amazing, and I felt it was a place where people were truly committed to the mission of caring for the community.

After residency, I stayed on as a faculty member because I had the opportunity to work with such incredible people. I also had many opportunities come my way through being on the faculty at Brown. I earned a master’s degree in health professions education, which really launched my career as an educator.

Do you still keep in touch with your co-residents?

I'm still very close with my classmates. Even though we are spread all over the country, we are always excited to get together and reconnect when we see each other. When you go through the intensity of medical training, you see people at their best and their worst, and you love them for who they are. That fosters a really deep connection.

What advice would you give to current residents?

What I tell my residents is: You can do this. Believe in yourself. Many of us go through training questioning whether we are good enough or deserve to be there, and imposter syndrome is real. Just know that if you made it to residency, you are meant to be there. Everyone is there to support you and help you succeed.

Try to do your best and take care of yourself, but also take advantage of the incredible learning opportunities before you—residency is a unique time in your career for growth and discovery.

Why did you enter medicine and specifically into family medicine?

At a certain point, I realized I wanted to have a greater social impact. I wanted to connect with people, and public service became a priority for me. That gradually led me to medicine, and family medicine in particular resonated deeply.

In family medicine, there is a strong emphasis on public service and helping communities, which aligned with my values. I also loved the ability to care for a wide range of medical issues within primary care and build long-term relationships with patients, which are essential to their health.

Who were your mentors in Residency?

Rabin Chandran was a strong mentor of mine. I met him at lunch on my interview day at Brown, and he pretty much convinced me to come. He was a faculty member, later became a colleague when I joined the faculty, and is now a dear friend—such a wonderful part of my life.

Of course, I have to mention Jeff Borkan. He was critical to my success in academic medicine. He became the chair of the department when I was a chief resident, recruited me to the faculty, and supported my pursuit of a master's program.

Alicia Monroe ran the faculty development fellowship I participated in as a junior faculty member, and she was a key role model for me.

Julie Taylor was an incredible mentor when I first joined the faculty. I was on her team, and she helped me get started in academic medicine. She involved me in multiple scholarly projects she was working on.

Sue Magee, who was a year ahead of me and chief resident, encouraged me to run for chief resident. That was my first big leadership position, which helped me see myself in a leadership role and ultimately led me to residency leadership. Sue is a very dear friend—she even delivered my baby! We still spend the holidays together in Rhode Island every year.

Do you still keep in touch with your former co-residents? 

Overall, I’m still very connected to Brown. I see the faculty at conferences, and many people at Natividad came through the Brown Residency Program or medical school. I visit almost every time I’m back East, a couple of times a year. It’s a community that remains closely connected.

I am living the dream—bringing idealistic medical school graduates in, helping them maintain their idealism through the important work of residency, and guiding them toward their place in clinical family medicine. It’s all about continuing to do this vital work and serving the people who need us most.