Emergency Medicine PGY-1 Residents

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I love cooking and trying new recipes as well as exploring the local food scene! I also love hiking, biking, and simply being outdoors. I have a cat named Benzo because he eases my anxiety and I am not a fan of chocolate.

Why Fresno?
I grew up in the Central Valley and witnessed health disparities first hand being a member of a Mexican immigrant household. The Central Valley is my community and I am ecstatic that I get to complete my residency here!

Hobbies
Plants, hiking, skiing, beach, and taking six months to read one book. Very curious to experience winter temperatures that don't drop to the single digits.

Why Fresno?
I came here for the first time for an away rotation as a fourth year medical student and fell in love with the program and with the area. I was blown away by the skill of the residents and the investment of the faculty (not to mention how much fun I had on every shift), and I knew that if I were a fraction as good as these seniors when I graduated, my patients would be ok. The acuity is high, the volumes are higher, and there are always problems to creatively solve. The easy outdoors access and proximity to my friends and family spread across California sealed the deal.

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
Hiking, travel, yoga

Why Fresno?
Fresno EM's commitment to providing compassionate and excellent care to the underserved Central Valley, the Parkmedic Program, and proximity to Yosemite!

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I have, as of recently, been introduced to the world of Kombucha brewing, so I am on a journey to craft the perfect bottle of Kombucha goodness. Also enjoy a good day hike... and a relaxing day at home while hosting a mildly competitive board game session.

Why Fresno?
I really enjoyed my AI at UCSF Fresno. It was a great blend of academic and community Emergency Medicine. The hospital itself has a large catchment area, ensuring great exposure to a variety of presentations. And, of course, can't forget the proximity to all those national parks!

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I enjoy playing sports when I can, getting outdoors, lifting, running, watching foosball (go Niners), and chilling with family, friends, and animals.
Having taken a non-conventional path to medicine, I am also passionate about fostering the next generation of medical professionals in the San Joaquin Valley.

Why Fresno?
I was born and raised in Reedley, Fresno County, surrounded by family and friends. My introduction to the world of medicine began at CRMC in 2016, where I worked as a college student scribing in the ER; it was there that I realized my passion for medicine and decided to pursue a career as an ER physician. Eight years later, I'm fortunate to be right where I wanted to be.

The Valley faces severe socioeconomic and health challenges, including one of the worst physician and medical professional shortages in California. CRMC's ER is consistently among the top five busiest in the state, serving as a crucial safety net for the community. It is a privilege to stay in the Valley and contribute to addressing these critical needs.

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I enjoy backpacking, climbing, biking, and truly anything else outdoors. Before medical school, I thru-hiked the PCT (where I met my husband!), and after my M1 year, I bicycled across the country. With these experiences, and growing up in a rural town outside Yosemite, I became interested in wilderness medicine and rural EM.

Why Fresno?
I knew within minutes of my interview that UCSF Fresno was where I wanted to continue training - the high acuity, large catchment area, kind people, easy access to the outdoors, and close to family. Additionally, the wilderness medicine education was an added bonus that solidified my decision!

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
In my free time I love hiking and exploring the Fresno area, trying new restaurants, and getting humbled at trivia nights in bars. I'm also a dancer, having been on various dance teams for ballet folklorico, and bachata. I still go out bachata and salsa dancing whenever I can! My passions in emergency medicine include addressing barriers to healthcare in underserved populations and pre-medical mentorship especially in the San Joaquin Valley.

Why Fresno?
I knew that I wanted a program where first and foremost I would have excellent training. But it was just as important to me to find a program where I could provide healthcare to underserved populations, especially Latinx/Spanish speaking patients. Having been born and raised in a Latinx/Spanish speaking family in the San Joaquin Valley, I've always desired to come back home and do what I can to improve healthcare in the valley. I was lucky enough to do much of my medical training in Fresno which allowed me to see first-hand how amazing the program is! Even as a student I received so much support and mentorship. Fresno to me is the perfect opportunity to receive world class medical training while also being able to serve the many communities that raised me.

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
In classic EM fashion, I'm usually trying to get outside- I love getting lost on trail runs and bikepacking trips with pals. I also enjoy cooking up new soups with my wonderful partner, sleeping in late with our hound dog, bike lanes, dive bars, and (slowly) learning some bluegrass on the guitar and banjo. On the career side, I'm still figuring out my role in helping improve our broken healthcare system, but I'm interested in both health policy and public health programming.

Why Fresno?
Apart from the stellar farmers' markets and backcountry access, Fresno gave me a good gut feeling that I hoped to find on the application trail. I rotated here through a last-minute opening, and really enjoyed it. Patient acuity and volume is unparallelled, attendings and upper-levels prioritize teaching (as do nurses, RT, pharmacy, and many others), and I have a lot to learn from the diverse, complex, and underserved patient population of the Central Valley. All the academic backing of UCSF, with a high degree of autonomy for residency training. Why not Fresno?

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I love doing anything where I can get outside, particularly in the mountains and forest. My favorite hobbies include rock climbing, alpine skiing, mountain biking, backpacking and foraging for mushrooms.

Why Fresno?
There are a lot of reasons I choose Fresno but one of the most significant was the patient population, diversity, pathology, and at need population. The quality of training I have seen the residents get here is unparalleled. I also choose it as Fresno is close to all the outdoor activities I love, great opportunities to participate in wilderness medicine, and amazing faculty and residents.

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I'm a huge 49ers fan and love going to games whenever I can. Also cooking, baking, finding the best places to eat anywhere I go, traveling, going to concerts, hiking. Within EM, I'm interested in toxicology and critical care.

Why Fresno?
Fresno is home for me and coming back to serve the communities I grew up around is really special to me. I was also first introduced to emergency medicine in the ED here at CRMC and I have yet to find another ED that is as crazy and chaotic (in a good way) in terms of diverse pathology and volume. That combined with being able to work with many of the physicians I look up to made UCSF Fresno an easy choice.

Hobbies, fun facts and interests
I grew up in Union City and completed my BA in Public Health at UC Berkeley, and paid the Bay Bridge toll to study medicine at UCSF. During undergrad, I became an EMT and was an executive in the Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps (BMRC) - a volunteer-based, federally deployable responder unit of EMT-Bs on the UC Berkeley campus. Since that experience, I have admired the breadth of knowledge and acuity of conditions in Emergency Medicine. Stepping into the ED with a fresh set of boots, I am excited to learn and mature as an emergency medicine physician. In my other professional career, I serve as a research consultant for Rx4good where I think through organizational challenges within the patient advocacy landscape. I am also interested in exploring the business side of medicine to improve community wellness and patient health.

During my free time, I enjoy drinking overpriced coffee, staying active, cooking/baking/grilling, and binging seasons of shows the same day they release on Netflix.

Why Fresno?
UCSF Fresno offers strong clinical training, the chance to do great work with an underserved community, kind residency culture, natural beauty that is a short distance away (as well as opportunity to work in nature through programs like ParkMedics), and great Mexican food.