A Community-Based Medical School for the 21st Century
The UC Riverside School of Medicine held its tenth Commencement and Hippocratic Oath Ceremony on Friday, June 5, 2026 at the UCR Student Recreation Center. The event marked the SOM’s first unified, shared commencement across degree programs, with 78 Doctor of Medicine (MD) students, 34 Master of Biomedical Sciences (MS)...
As an emergency medical technician (EMT) from 2017 through 2019, Andrew Huang routinely saw seizures as one of his most common calls. He treated several patients in car accidents only to be dispatched to their houses a week later when they had a seizure; other calls were for patients hit...
When a child received a diagnosis for a cardiac issue on one of her pediatrics rotations, Helen Setaghiyan knew exactly what to do. “I ended up talking to the mom about how I received an unexpected diagnosis and the challenges I faced, and how my family navigated that situation,” recalled...
When Andrew McLain started at the UC Riverside School of Medicine in 2020, he was sure of one thing: He did not want to specialize in emergency medicine. For the former emergency medical technician (EMT), “I initially told myself I wasn't going to do emergency medicine because as an EMT...
After studying microbiology in college in Arizona, Jennell Jennett considered becoming a doctor. Yet while working in a primary care office after earning her bachelor’s degree, she soon understood that it wasn’t her ideal career choice. “I realized direct patient care maybe wasn't for me,” recalled Jennett, who will graduate...
Alicia Junker knew she wanted to focus on veterans health for her Master of Public Health (MPH) thesis at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. But initially, Junker, a member of the MPH program’s inaugural class of 2026, had trouble choosing a specific topic. In memory of a friend and...
During one of his pediatrics rotations in medical school, Javier Prieto encountered a young patient with a tumor growing in his kidney. “His relatives had already had kidney problems, so hearing that his kidney would be taken out caused fear within his family,” recalled Prieto, who will graduate from the...
When a friend asked James Elkins, UCR School of Medicine class of 2025, to help at an immigration shelter as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Elkins imagined migrants as people escaping persecution to find safety in their new home. “I had this thought in my head that I'm going to...
A few months ago, a patient at the Coachella Valley Free Clinic had an uncommon reaction to a routine blood pressure test. Seeing the high blood pressure reading, the patient began hyperventilating until UC Riverside biomedical sciences master’s student Valeria Barrientos spoke to her in Spanish, helping to calm her...
Marina Joseph: Overcoming Self-Doubt to Thrive in Medical School A few days before Marina Joseph’s very first final exam as a medical student, her bag containing her laptop, iPad, and all her notes was stolen. At the time, Joseph, a member of the UCR School of Medicine Class of 2025...
Cutting meat at his grocery store job one day, then 19-year-old Paul Patlan had a realization. “I was like, if I don't do something, this is going to be my life and I'm never going to be able to give my children the childhood that I always wanted,” recalled Patlan...
Beginning medical school during the pandemic, UCR SOM class of 2025 graduate Jennifer Pinal studied in a cramped back house with no air conditioning, repurposing second-hand furniture to create a makeshift study space. As a single mother, she balanced medical school with her kids’ Zoom classes, grocery runs, and keeping...
