My first love was surgery, which I eagerly pursued through my internship at UCSF, residency at Inova, and a research fellowship at Johns Hopkins...
Fueled by a passion for helping others, my healthcare journey began with nursing, evolving into a master's degree and Nurse Practitioner Certificate...
With a desire to impact patients on a more profound level, I earned my master's degree and Nurse Practitioner Certificate from UCSF School of Nursing. This propelled me into roles with the Cardiac Surgery, Heart Transplant, and Lung Transplant teams at UCSF.
After witnessing the limitations of traditional medicine in addressing chronic illnesses, I shifted towards Functional and Precision Medicine, becoming a health coach.
Motivated by an unwavering commitment to uncover optimal health, I employ modalities and approaches frequently overlooked by traditional medicine.
This inherent passion led me to healthcare. Building a foundation in nursing across critical care, cardiovascular, emergency, and general medicine, I evolved into the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Cardiac Surgery Nurse Coordinator.
This position honed my skills in navigating the complex insurance and referral systems, collaborating with administrators, and contributing to quality improvement projects. I was recognized with the prestigious national Daisy Award for my clinical expertise and work ethic.
My passion and focus became the critical care aspects of these services, as well as further understanding how to improve the patient experience overall.
Every evening at dinner, my dad would regale us with stories of his day as a surgeon, sparking a passion in me.
After graduating medical school, I embarked on my General Surgery residency, first with an internship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), followed by my second year of residency at Inova Fairfax Medical Center.
The following year I completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in conjuncture with my residency program.
However, I was determined to identify innovative ways to serve patients beyond the limits of the healthcare system and pivoted away from residency to explore this.
Over the next years, I practiced as a moonlighting physician at UCSF, working on many surgical specialities: