Introduction to Myself!

Hi, everyone! I was very excited to be invited to write for this blog. As a soon-to-be intern, I enjoy the opportunity to document my experiences both in the field of family medicine and quality improvement. My hope is to use this blog to not only document what I am seeing and doing, but also to use it as an opportunity to reflect upon and discuss issues related to the larger issues of healthcare quality and patient safety. I am also excited to depict how these issues will flavor my experiences as a resident. Lastly, I agreed to write for this blog because that act of writing, itself, relaxes me.

Before I get into any discussion of my experiences in QI or as Aultman Hospital’s Open School President, I feel that I should tell you more about myself. I would like to do this, because the descriptions of my experiences may be skewed by my beliefs, experiences, etc. How am I different than you? How am I the same as you? I would like you to know these things and analyze my writings in light of this information.

I am an only-child. Both of my parents are from the Philippines. Neither of my them are physicians. My mother is a nurse, and my father is a retired engineer. He has diabetes and has had multiple complications related to the disease. I am Catholic. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I have attended a private Catholic grade school, and a private Jesuit high school. I did my undergraduate learning at St. Louis University. I briefly considered training to get a Ph. D. in psychology during college. Therefore, I did one year of research at Washington University of St. Louis in the hopes that such an experience would help me make up my mind. I decided that bench research took me too far away from the sort of ‘helping’ that I had always envisioned myself doing. So, I took the MCAT and came back to Ohio to attend medical school. There, I found my passion and niche in primary care.

My interest in QI and PS stems from multiple experiences in the realm of medicine. I remember how frustrated I felt when I learned (on more than one occasion) of the mistakes that hospital staff made while my father was under their care. I remember my mother’s stories of her being witness to less than optimal quality care by some of the hospital staff. As a medical student, the gap that lies between what one learns in the classroom and what one actually experiences on the wards is, at first, shocking.

I knew that I wanted to make a difference in this aspect of medicine.

Today, I am currently the Founder/President of the IHI Open School at Aultman Hospital, which is a community hospital in Canton, Ohio. I am a 4^th year medical student at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio. I will be doing my residency in family medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.

My current favorite band is Coldplay. I relax by going to the gym, writing, and cooking. I am a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So, that’s me. My next post will be about the starting of a hospital-based Open School Chapter – what worked, what did not. If you have anything else that you would like to know or any topics that you would like me to cover in this blog now or in the future, please let me know.

Again, I am excited to be able to share my experiences and thoughts with you all!