Honoring Healthcare Leaders

I interviewed these healthcare providers just as the Bay Area was beginning its shutdown. These UCSF alumni stories describe these individuals' outsized contributions to their respective specialties. What the stories don't show is a relentless dedication to the work in the face of the increased personal risk and stress of the pandemic. 
-This nurse practitioner is a community leader at work and on his own time.
-This renegade dentist improved U.S dental care with his research and persistence.
-This psychiatric nurse is an advocate for teens and underserved communities.

​“You're kind of like an orchestra conductor because there are so many things to figure out about what's going on in this person's life,” Nakaishi says. She’d probe a patient’s economic circumstances, food access, school environment, and how the parents talk about food and eating behaviors. Then she’d work to get everyone – the school, the parents, the therapists – on the same page. “It’s a combination of medical science and social science,” she observes. “It's like people science – how do you motivate people to change?” Read more.

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