Clinical Care

Clinical experiences shaping my path to medicine.

My clinical experiences have shown me how different patient care can look depending on the setting. In the emergency department, I have seen how care has to move quickly while still making patients feel heard during stressful and uncertain moments. Through street medicine, I have learned how important it is to meet people where they are and build trust with patients who may face barriers to traditional healthcare. My experience providing in-home support for neurodivergent individuals has shown me a more personal and consistent side of care, where understanding someone's routines, communication style, and individual needs matters just as much as the task at hand. Together, these roles have taught me how much good patient care depends on communication, trust, flexibility, and understanding the person behind the medical need.

Cottage Health, Emergency Department Scribe

Santa Barbara, CA | About 500 hours

Cottage Health emergency department entrance sign

Working as an ER scribe has given me a much better idea of what the day-to-day work of medicine involves. After about 500 hours in the emergency department, I have had the chance to follow hundreds of patient encounters from the initial history through testing, treatment, and eventual discharge or admission. My specific responsibilities include writing HPIs, documenting physical exam findings, and documenting consults and procedures. My main takeaways have been learning to thrive in a fast-paced environment, ensuring that charts are not only billable but correctly so, and learning to become reliable with each doctor's specific preferences as a physician. More than anything, I have enjoyed seeing how physicians balance the medical side of a case with communicating clearly with patients and families. Spending this much time in the ER has made medicine feel much more real to me and has strengthened my interest in becoming a physician.

Acute careMedical documentationPhysician communication

Devereux Behavioral Health, Personal Attendant

Santa Barbara, CA | About 500 hours

My work at Devereux has been one of my longest and most personal caregiving experiences. Over roughly 500 hours, I worked for the most part with one resident in his own home. He had severe behavioral issues that I took pride in helping him overcome. I helped him with lifestyle changes like exercise, taught him how to cook healthier meals, and most importantly spent countless days gaining his trust despite his vast mistrust of other males. I also carried responsibilities like medication administration, whether regular or as needed, which provided me with some important decision-making to protect the resident. He became a regular part of my life, and not only did I teach him a lot, he taught me a lot about patience and respect, and most of all he reminded me to be grateful for the basic aspects of my life.

Behavioral healthNeurodivergenceConsistent support

Doctors Without Walls, Street Medicine

Santa Barbara, CA | About 100 hours

Santa Barbara Street Medicine outreach team at the van

Through about 100 volunteer hours with Doctors Without Walls, I have been able to see a side of healthcare that I probably would not have understood from working in a hospital alone. My specific role is to scribe, which means taking histories and connecting with patients, whether that is just having a conversation with them about their lives or arranging treatment by a physician. I also help with medical pack restockings and facilitating prescriptions ordered by the physician. One of the biggest things I have learned is that access to healthcare is much more complicated than simply having a hospital nearby. Housing, transportation, finances, and trust can all determine whether someone receives care at all. This experience has made me think more seriously about healthcare access and the importance of meeting patients where they are.

Community outreachStreet medicineHealthcare access