Most people don't struggle with healthcare because they're not trying hard enough. They struggle because nobody ever taught them this one skill.

This week, Scrub Talk launches the HEAL Series (Health Education and Literacy) — a new recurring segment built around one simple idea: you deserve to understand the system you're navigating, not just survive it.

Health literacy isn't about memorizing medical terminology or knowing the difference between an HMO and a PPO. In 2026, it's about filtering the noise, asking the right questions, and showing up to your care as an active participant. It is the single skill that changes every interaction you have with the healthcare system.

In this episode, we break down what health literacy actually looks like in practice: who's on your care team and how to think about the differences between them, how to know where to go when something goes wrong, and what it takes to leave a clinical visit with real clarity instead of confusion.

Topics covered: health literacy, primary care, urgent care vs. ER, the clinical hierarchy, patient advocacy, the exam room experience, and what it actually means to be an active partner in your own care. 

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Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe. 

 ⚠️ This episode contains an open discussion of intimate partner violence. If this is something you are currently navigating or have experienced, please take care of yourself as you listen. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. You can also reach them online at thehotline.org

What does it look like to rebuild your life from scratch — not once, but over and over again — and still show up as one of the most accomplished people in the room?

This week, I sit down with my good friend and classmate Maureen Leahey — UVA peer mentor, Raven Society inductee, UPCEA Outstanding Student of the Year for 2026, full-time healthcare auditor, and single mom — to talk about what it actually takes to keep going when the system, and life itself, has given you every reason to stop.

Maureen doesn't just have a résumé. She has a story. One that includes surviving intimate partner violence, rebuilding her career from the ground up, losing her father, raising her daughter on her own, and refusing at every turn to let any of it be the final word on who she is.

In this conversation, you'll hear Maureen talk about the moment she almost questioned whether she was the right mother for her daughter — and what pulled her back. You'll hear about the provider who dismissed her, and the one who finally listened and changed everything. You'll hear about faith that isn't routine or performative, but forged in some of the hardest moments a person can face.

Maureen's message is simple and it hits hard: surviving something doesn't define you. Healing is possible. And life — even after everything — is worth showing up for fully.

This one's personal. We think you'll feel that.

National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233 | Text START to 88788 | thehotline.org

Topics covered: intimate partner violence survival and recovery, non-traditional student life, faith and resilience, trauma-informed care, healthcare leadership, the patient experience, and what it means to build a life on your own terms.

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Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe. 

During the pandemic, I finally did something I'd been putting off for years — I established care with a primary care provider. What followed was a months-long battle to access the medication I needed, a psychiatric provider who stopped returning my calls, and a prior authorization process I had to fight through almost entirely on my own. And I did all of that while being on Medicaid, working in healthcare, and coming from a culture that never really made space for mental health in the first place.

This episode is about what it actually takes to navigate a system that wasn't designed to make things easy. It's about the panic attacks I couldn't name, the moment a PHQ questionnaire cracked something open that I'd been carrying for years, and the first time I took Vyvanse and grieved everything I realized I could have had sooner.

But it's also about what I learned on the other side of it — about self-advocacy, about showing up for yourself even when the system doesn't show up for you, and about why none of us should have to fight this hard just to get the care we need.

Happy Mental Health May! Let's Have More Good Days Together 

• 🧠 Mental Health America — Free Mental Health Screenings Free, confidential screenings for depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more.
• 🩺 Zocdoc — Find a Provider That Takes Your Insurance Search for licensed providers in your area and filter by insurance.
• ☀️ The Skin Cancer Foundation Learn more about skin cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. 
• 💚 BetterHelp — Online Therapy Get matched with a licensed therapist and get 10% off your first month. 
• 🤖 Can You Trust AI for Health Advice? — Mayo Clinic A helpful guide on how to use AI tools safely when researching your health. 
• 📱 How to Use Social Media Healthfully — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Research-backed guidance on navigating social media in a way that supports your wellbeing.
• 📞 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline If you're struggling, help is available 24/7. Call or text 988 anytime.

Send us Fan Mail

Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe. 

I almost didn't come back.

Not because I ran out of things to say — but because I started to wonder if any of it mattered. If the system was too broken. The people too far apart. The gap too wide to cross from where I was standing.

But here I am. And I think I finally understand why I couldn't stay away.

Scrub Talk is back. And it's different now.

Send us Fan Mail

Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe. 

This episode is deeply personal.

For most of my adult life, the holidays were spent working, studying, or just trying to survive. But this year, I did something different—I sat down with someone who’s been a guiding force in my life: my grandmother, Emmy Ramos.

She’s a registered nurse with over 50 years of experience. Trained in the Philippines, Emmy went on to serve in the U.S. Army, work in public health, and care for patients across med-surg, labor and delivery, psych, and more. From Chicago’s Cook County Hospital to the very hospital where I was born—she’s seen it all.

But for me, she wasn’t just a nurse. She was “Mom.”
 The one who raised me when my own parents couldn’t.
 The one who gave me my flu shots, cooked dinner every night, and modeled what it means to serve others with compassion and strength.

In this conversation, we talk about immigration, cultural transition, family legacy, and what it really means to care—both in and out of scrubs. This is more than a nursing story. It’s a family story. And a tribute to a woman who helped shape my purpose.

Send us Fan Mail

Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe. 

In this very first episode of Scrub Talk, I draw from my experiences in pharmacy, surgery, ENT, and radiation oncology to kick off a podcast that isn’t just about healthcare—it’s about the people holding it together.

Scrubs are more than just a uniform. They carry trust, quiet connection, and the weight of showing up for others—even when we’re struggling inside. This episode is part origin story, part reflection. I talk about the emotional cost of care, the burnout so many of us are feeling, and the systems that often forget the humanity behind the work.

I also share why storytelling matters—how it helps us make sense of the chaos, stay grounded, and reconnect with our “why.” Scrub Talk is for anyone who’s ever worn scrubs, worked beside someone who does, or simply wondered what it feels like to be on the frontlines of modern healthcare.

This isn’t just my story—it’s ours.
And this is where the healing begins.

Send us Fan Mail

Heads Up: 

The conversations on Scrub Talk are meant to inform and inspire, not replace medical advice. The voices on this show — including mine — come with strong professional backgrounds and even stronger opinions. That doesn't mean anything you hear is medical guidance for your specific situation. Always talk to your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. We're here to explore, not prescribe.