Name Yela Carey

Hometown Sequim, Wash., pronounced  “SEE-quim”

Undergraduate School and Degree George Fox University, BA in Social and Behavioral Studies

Patient Care Experience CNA in the ICU/Med-Surg. ED Tech at Olympic Medical Center (the rural hospital where I am from).  ED Tech at Randall Children’s Hospital here in Portland.

Favorite Place in Portland I love to eat at the Pine Street Market, Grindswittryz (there is no one “favorite” option in Portland) and Doe Doughnuts (because donuts). In terms of exploring in Portland, Forest Park is amazing, Mt. Tabor is rad, and just biking around is always a treat (you meet many good dogs and see some rad houses). The coast and Mt. Hood are also closer than you think, and wow is it worth your time!

My path to becoming a PA is a bit backward. I chose to go into health care after fighting it for many years. I have been personally, negatively affected my whole life by the health care system and I held onto bitterness about this for many years. The day I realized that I have the power to turn my hurts into a product to help others, I started the slow grapple towards becoming a PA. It has been a wild ride! I chose OHSU because it is in the best part of the country (the Pacific Northwest!) and because I was blown away by the caliber and expertise of the faculty when I met them on the interview day.

My favorite part of the curriculum so far has been the tie between clinical medicine and the side of medicine that deals with the human in front of you. The program has a class called Principles of Professional Practice – it challenges us to confront things like unconscious bias, health care disparities among ethnic populations, health literacy, and more.

So far going to grad school during a pandemic has taught me, even more, that control is an illusion and you just have to be patient and rely on your support system to help encourage you to keep your head up!

I am most looking forward to our clinical year, which is intimidating. But this is what I signed up for this right!? I am very excited to learn and grow with the help of our preceptors, learn from future patients, and see who I am at the end of this program. I am sure I won’t be the same person as when I started (and that is a good thing!). Also, I can’t wait to see how my cohort transforms as we become PAs!