In the thirty-fifth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Ogochukwu Azagba, a Registered Nurse-Midwife with over four years of experience across clinical practice, academics, and healthcare leadership. Ogochukwu’s journey into healthcare is rooted in a deep love for humanity and a belief in the power of compassionate, patient-centered care.

From the beginning of her career, Ogochukwu has been drawn not only to bedside care but also to leadership and systems-level impact. She has served in multiple healthcare NGOs, first as Financial Secretary and later as Executive President, and has held leadership roles in academic programs and healthcare conferences addressing major healthcare topics. These experiences have shaped her ability to organize, lead, and turn ideas into meaningful action.

We talk about what motivates Ogochukwu to keep going in a demanding field—especially the gratitude, smiles, and trust of the individuals she cares for. For her, knowing that someone’s healing journey is improved because of her presence is both grounding and energizing. She is equally motivated by the belief that healthcare systems can be transformed for the better through intentional leadership and advocacy.

Ogochukwu is especially passionate about respectful maternal care. She speaks candidly about the challenges women face during labor and childbirth and the harm caused when professionalism and empathy are absent. She believes nurse-midwives should serve as emotional anchors during one of the most vulnerable moments of a person’s life, advocating for dignity, compassion, and humanity in maternal healthcare.

We also highlight an accomplishment Ogochukwu is deeply proud of: her service as President of a nursing NGO, where she helped implement structure and systems that created a stronger foundation for future leaders. Today, she continues to seek opportunities to serve organizations that can benefit from her expertise in clinical care, administration, and leadership.

Ogochukwu’s story reminds us that healing doesn’t stop at the bedside—and that thoughtful leadership, advocacy, and compassion can change healthcare from the inside out.

In the thirty-fourth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Anna Leyrer, a second-year medical student on the MD track, currently completing her final year of didactic training before stepping into clinical rotations. Anna’s path to medicine was shaped early on by her own experience as a patient—one that revealed both the profound impact of compassionate care and the harm that can come from dismissal and bias.

At just 13 years old, Anna navigated a sports injury that took eight doctors to diagnose and treat. Along the way, she encountered physicians who inspired hope and others who minimized her pain. Those contrasting experiences sparked her commitment to becoming the kind of doctor who listens, believes patients, and stands beside them—especially when answers aren’t immediate.

We talk about what keeps Anna motivated through the rigors of medical school, from remembering the patient she once was to reflecting on the challenges she’s already overcome, including the MCAT, the medical school admissions process, and personal hardships. Her resilience is deeply tied to her vision of practicing medicine with empathy and integrity.

Anna is especially passionate about addressing bias and discrimination in healthcare, including bias related to gender, incarceration, substance use, and skin color. She believes that continued training and self-reflection are essential for clinicians to provide equitable, high-quality care—and that healthcare professionals must meet patients without judgment. Beyond advocacy, Anna is also dedicated to mentorship, supporting pre-meds and early medical students through her platform, @pagingswampgirl.

We also highlight a project Anna is especially proud of: helping raise funds for Camp Tiger, her medical school’s free camp for children with disabilities. As a Donation Coordinator, she played a key role in ensuring families could access transportation, meals, and meaningful experiences—creating unforgettable memories for children at no cost to their parents.

Anna’s story is a powerful reminder of how lived experience can shape compassionate physicians and how intentional care can restore hope when patients need it most.

In the thirty-third episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Mariam Atnasious — a first-year physician assistant student at MCPHS University in Massachusetts. As she reflects on completing her didactic year, Mariam shares what it’s been like to pursue medicine across borders, cultures, and challenges.

Mariam’s passion for healthcare is deeply rooted in her lived experience as an immigrant and the child of first-generation immigrants navigating the healthcare system. These experiences shaped her commitment to cultural competence and patient-centered care — values she plans to carry into her future practice as a PA. During her undergraduate years, she also co-founded Freedom from Violence, an organization dedicated to normalizing conversations around all forms of violence and connecting students with community resources, further solidifying her drive to serve and advocate.

What keeps Mariam going, especially during difficult moments, is her family. After applying to PA school for three cycles, she carries deep gratitude for the journey and the perseverance it required. Their pride in her success reminds her why she kept going — and why giving up was never an option.

Mariam is especially passionate about pediatric cardiology, with a particular interest in congenital heart disease. She’s inspired by how far medicine has advanced in treating these conditions and is deeply aware of the fear and uncertainty families experience after diagnosis. Her goal is to support, educate, and advocate for both patients and their families during some of their most vulnerable moments.

One of her proudest accomplishments is completing her didactic year — the most challenging year of her life. Packing up everything she owned, leaving her home country, and starting over alone came with academic, social, and personal obstacles. Overcoming them has brought her one step closer to becoming a PA-C, with just less than 12 months to go.

Mariam’s story is one of resilience, faith, and determination — a reminder that persistence, purpose, and community can carry you through even the hardest seasons.

In the thirty-second episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Sadie, a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, psychosomatic symptoms, trauma, and chronic pain.

Sadie’s path into mental health work is deeply personal. Inspired by her own recovery journey, she brings both clinical expertise and lived experience into the therapy room. Her approach centers on creating space for deep, meaningful healing—honoring the connection between mind and body and recognizing the role of somatics in trauma treatment.

What motivates Sadie most is her clients. She speaks to the long-term relationships she builds with them, the resilience they show, and the lasting change she witnesses throughout their healing journeys. Her work is grounded in the belief that recovery is possible—not just in theory, but in practice—because she has lived it herself.

We also explore Sadie’s focus on somatic-based trauma care, the importance of treating the body alongside the mind, and how evidence-based modalities like EMDR shape her clinical work.

This conversation highlights the power of compassion, embodiment, and trust in therapy—and what it truly means to walk alongside someone in healing.

In the thirty-first episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Dr. Tharshika Thavayogarajah — a clinician-scientist, hematologist, and social entrepreneur conducting leukemia research at Harvard University. Trained in hematology and internal medicine in Switzerland, Dr. Thavayogarajah brings a unique perspective to medicine, blending patient care, scientific innovation, and a commitment to equity in healthcare.

Born and raised in Germany to immigrant parents, she was inspired to pursue medicine after meeting young patients with leukemia at just 16 years old. That experience, coupled with her belief in the transformative power of education and opportunity, shaped her path toward becoming a hematologist and researcher dedicated to understanding and combating blood cancers.

Dr. Thavayogarajah’s work focuses on uncovering the genetic and molecular mechanisms driving leukemia, including studies on Werner syndrome as a model for myeloid malignancies. Beyond research, she is deeply passionate about gender equity in medicine and building systems where women — as both patients and professionals — are respected, heard, and empowered.

Her journey has been marked by resilience, determination, and purpose. Navigating spaces where few people looked like her, she became a junior attending at a young age while maintaining her commitment to scientific excellence and compassionate care. For Dr. Thavayogarajah, every breakthrough in research and every patient interaction is a step toward a more equitable and hopeful future in medicine.

This episode highlights the intersection of science, care, and advocacy, showing how one physician-scientist leverages expertise, empathy, and entrepreneurship to transform both patient outcomes and the medical landscape.

In the thirtieth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Brian Kendall, MD — a board-certified emergency medicine physician and core faculty member with the HCA/Trident Emergency Medicine Residency in Charleston, South Carolina. Brian has known he wanted to be a doctor for as long as he can remember, inspired by his grandfather, Dr. Bill Rumsfeld, an OB/GYN whose compassion, skill, and deep impact on his community continue to guide Brian’s work every day in the emergency department.

Brian’s career centers on the fast-paced, unpredictable world of emergency medicine — a field he loves for its constant challenge and the need to quickly assess, diagnose, and care for undifferentiated patients. From life-threatening emergencies to everyday concerns, he thrives in environments where adaptability, critical thinking, and teamwork are essential.

Beyond clinical care, Brian is deeply passionate about helping patients better understand the healthcare system. Through his social media platforms, he focuses on educating people about when emergency care is necessary, what the ER can and cannot do, and how to avoid unnecessary visits that often lead to frustration, long waits, and high costs. His goal is to empower patients with clarity, save them time and money, and reduce stress during already difficult moments.

Brian is also involved in several leadership and business ventures, serving as CFO of BBKT Properties, Director of Operations for Better Bleeding Control, and a strategic advisor for Modern Mom Lab. These roles reflect his interest in improving systems, operations, and patient education both inside and outside the hospital.

What motivates Brian most — especially during challenging shifts — is the opportunity to make a real difference in moments that matter most. As a physician and former clerkship director, he takes pride in mentoring medical students and guiding them through the complexities of pursuing emergency medicine, helping shape the next generation of clinicians.

Outside of medicine, Brian is a dedicated husband and father who values intentional family life. Whether he’s skiing, wake surfing, camping, traveling, tackling NYT crossword puzzles, or spending time under the stars, family remains at the center of everything he does.

Brian’s story reflects the heart of emergency medicine — resilience, service, and impact — and the importance of empowering patients with knowledge alongside care.

In the twenty-ninth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Juliana Schlaen, also known as @glottisgoddess — a clinical fellow speech-language pathologist specializing in voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Juliana completed her graduate training at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she gained hands-on experience across diverse medical settings. Growing up in a bilingual household with parents who immigrated from South America, she speaks Spanish and Portuguese — a background that deeply shapes how she connects with patients and delivers culturally responsive care.

Juliana’s work centers on helping individuals understand and care for their voices, prevent strain and injury, and rebuild confidence in how they speak and swallow. Whether she’s supporting someone after a laryngectomy, guiding recovery from a vocal fold lesion, or helping a patient safely enjoy food again after swallowing difficulties, her goal is rooted in education, empowerment, and restoring quality of life.

Her path into speech-language pathology was inspired by a lifelong connection to music. Growing up singing, performing musical theater, and playing piano, Juliana has always viewed the voice as an essential part of identity. That perspective fuels her passion for helping others rehabilitate their voices — something that is often deeply tied to self-expression and personal connection. Her externship at a Level I trauma hospital further shaped her career, exposing her to how suddenly life can change and strengthening her commitment to swallowing and upper airway care.

What motivates Juliana most is her patients. Seeing their determination, dedication to therapy outside the clinic, and tangible progress keeps her grounded and inspired, even during challenging moments. She believes voice and swallow rehabilitation extends far beyond therapy sessions — it’s a partnership built on trust, effort, and resilience.

Juliana also shares her deep connection to the Parkinson’s community, inspired by a family member’s experience with the disease. Parkinson’s affects millions worldwide and impacts not only movement, but voice, swallowing, cognition, and social connection. Throughout graduate school, Juliana supported this community through research-driven projects, earning a high pass for her work on dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease, becoming SPEAK OUT! and LSVT LOUD certified, and helping initiate a Parkinson’s social group in Charleston to foster connection and community.

We also talk about Juliana’s growing presence on social media and why she created @glottisgoddess. Through educational content — including live self-endoscopies that show vocal folds and laryngeal anatomy in real time — she works to demystify voice and swallowing therapy, break down complex anatomy, and help people understand that these resources exist and are accessible.

Juliana’s story highlights the power of voice — not just as sound, but as identity, connection, and confidence — and the meaningful impact of care that helps people reclaim it.

In the twenty-eighth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Reena Prajapati — an Optometrist and Ocularist whose work spans both primary eye care and the highly specialized art of ocular prosthetics. As an optometrist, Reena focuses on comprehensive vision care, and as an ocularist, she creates custom prosthetic eyes for individuals who have lost an eye due to trauma, illness, or accidents — restoring not only appearance, but confidence and dignity.

Reena’s journey into healthcare began at a young age. During her first visit to an ophthalmologist at just 12 or 13 years old, she was fascinated by the technology and precision involved in eye care. That early curiosity sparked a lasting interest that eventually led her to pursue optometry. Today, she works as a consultant optometrist and ocularist at Reform Vision, combining clinical expertise with deeply personal, patient-centered care.

What continues to motivate Reena, even in challenging moments, is seeing her patients leave the room satisfied and smiling. For her, that moment of relief and happiness reflects far more than a successful appointment — it represents trust, healing, and the human connection at the heart of healthcare.

Reena is especially passionate about ocularistry, a field she describes as both an art and a science. Each prosthetic eye requires precision, creativity, and empathy, as no two cases are ever the same. This work matters deeply to her because many patients arrive feeling disheartened, isolated, or insecure about their appearance. Helping them regain confidence and feel comfortable in social spaces is one of the most meaningful aspects of her role.

Reflecting on her journey, Reena shares pride not in a single project, but in how far she has come. Growing up in a small village in Gujarat, India, with limited resources, she navigated her education and career by moving to major cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad. Her path is a testament to resilience, perseverance, and self-belief — and she takes pride in the practitioner she has become today.

Reena’s story is a powerful reminder that healthcare is not only about clinical skill, but about restoring hope, confidence, and quality of life — one patient at a time.

In the twenty-seventh episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Tiffany Pecoraro (Haug)  — a registered dietitian specializing in eating disorders and co-occurring chronic illness, including autoimmune disease, MCAS, EDS, GI disorders, and chronic conditions such as OCD and ADHD that impact nourishment and recovery. Tiffany’s work centers on integrating the full medical picture into eating disorder care, creating space where clients don’t have to choose between managing their chronic illness and pursuing recovery.

Tiffany’s approach is deeply informed by lived experience. After struggling with an eating disorder throughout her teen years, she entered recovery at 18 and has remained committed to it ever since. In her early twenties, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease — a diagnosis that helped her recognize how complex medical conditions and eating disorders can overlap, and how often one is misunderstood or minimized in clinical care. These experiences shaped her desire to become an eating disorder clinician and marked one of the first times she wanted something more than the illness itself.

Throughout our conversation, Tiffany reflects on what motivates her work: the privilege of walking alongside clients who are navigating deeply complex relationships with food, health, and their bodies. She speaks with honesty and compassion about the gaps that occur when chronic illness is overlooked in eating disorder treatment, and how misattributing physical needs to disordered thinking can undermine both recovery and quality of life.

A central theme of Tiffany’s work is unconditional positive regard in clinical care. She emphasizes that while evidence-based practice and clinical expertise are essential, there is no substitute for treating each client as a whole person with inherent worth. Her commitment to patience, understanding, and steadiness creates a therapeutic environment where clients feel seen, believed, and supported.

Rather than pointing to a single traditional accomplishment, Tiffany shares pride in reclaiming her own determination and structure — traits that once fueled her eating disorder, but now serve as protective strengths. She uses these qualities to support consistent nourishment and stability, even during life’s most stressful moments, and helps clients recognize similar strengths within themselves.

Tiffany’s story is a powerful reminder that healing is not about choosing between conditions, identities, or needs — it’s about integration, compassion, and honoring the full complexity of the human experience.

In the twenty-sixth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Jennifer Cheung, widely known online as Nurse Cheung — a nurse with over 13 years of experience in critical care and emergency medicine, a master’s degree in nursing education, and a former corporate critical care education training manager.

Jennifer has spent her career not only caring for patients in high-acuity settings, but also preparing nurses to step confidently into some of the most demanding roles in healthcare.Jennifer’s journey into healthcare began with a deeply personal moment: watching her father undergo open-heart surgery in the early 1990s. Witnessing the intensity of his procedure, recovery, and the emotional toll it took on her family revealed both the power of medicine and the profound human trust placed in healthcare providers. That experience planted the seed for a lifelong commitment to nursing and, eventually, to education.

Throughout our conversation, Jennifer reflects on what continues to motivate her in challenging moments. For her, nursing and education go far beyond exams and technical skills — they’re about preparing future healthcare professionals to walk into rooms where patients are scared, families are searching for answers, and lives hang in the balance. Knowing that the students she teaches today will become tomorrow’s decision-makers is what fuels her purpose.

Jennifer also shares why healthcare education is the issue she’s most passionate about. Drawing from her own experiences feeling unsupported during nursing school, she speaks candidly about the harm caused when students are dismissed, discouraged, or told they don’t belong. These moments inspired her to create Nurse Cheung — not just as an educational platform, but as a community where students feel seen, supported, and capable.

One of Jennifer’s proudest accomplishments is the Nurse Cheung TEAS program, developed in response to declining pass rates after the TEAS exam transitioned to version 7. By listening directly to successful students and designing materials that were clear, practical, and aligned with real exam needs, her program has helped countless students pass and has begun gaining recognition from school systems nationwide.

Jennifer’s story is a powerful reminder that better education leads to stronger nurses, and stronger nurses lead to better patient care. Her work proves that when students are supported and empowered, the impact extends far beyond the classroom — shaping the future of healthcare itself.