A Non-Traditional Journey from Community College, Parenthood, and Surgery


February 19

A Non-Traditional Journey from Community College, Parenthood, and Surgery

Do you think you are too old for Medical School? How does starting at 34 sound to you? Do you think you are too old to be a surgeon? How about starting at 38? Do you think you can’t start a family in medical school? Do you think getting married in medical school and becoming a parent in residency is impossible? If you think all these things are impossible, then you should come and meet Dr. Woods, who went from high school dropout to now a 3rd year surgical resident at UC Davis Health System, and discover how she was able to overcome all these challenges.

Dr. Woods grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. At the age of 16 she was emancipated and left home due to an unsafe environment. She dropped out of high school and went to work full time. For many years, making ends meet was difficult, and she even lived in her car for a short time. In her early 20s, she worked seasonal travel jobs in Europe, Alaska, and Baja Mexico. Once back stateside, she enrolled in community college where she reconnected with her teenage dream of becoming a surgeon. Moving to California with her sights set on attending UC Berkeley, she went to Cabrillo Community College in Santa Cruz, and eventually transferred to UC Berkeley for her BA in Molecular Biology, with an emphasis in Neurobiology. She started medical school at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA at the age of 34. She is now in her third year of general surgery residency. Dr. Woods hopes to pursue a fellowship in Colorectal Surgery. She has a particular interest in working towards improving surgical healthcare for the LGBTQ community, especially transgender/nonbinary patients.

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