UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology FALL 2023 - Flipbook - Page 23
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
A CONVERSATION WITH
MICHELLE EALA, M.D.
wards, while others assisted in the operating
rooms. Together with hospital management,
M: I was born and raised in the Philippines, an I helped set up a national COVID-19 hotline to
cater to COVID-19 patient queries and to assist
archipelago of more than 7000 islands, where
donors who wished to give food, supplies, and
6 out of 10 people die without seeing a doctor.
equipment to the hospital. We collaborated
I knew very early on that I wanted to pursue a
career that gave me the skills to be of service to with a large telecommunications company to
others, and medicine seemed like a pretty good set up this hotline, and I trained the medical
interns to serve as telemedicine agents.
way to do exactly that.
After completing my internship and passing
the Philippine medical licensing exams, I
worked with the Office of the Vice President
E: Are you the first member of your family to
of the Philippines as part of the national
wade into medicine?
COVID-19 response, and provided free medical
M: I have a few uncles and cousins in
consultations to hundreds of indigent patients.
medicine, but I’m the first female physician!
E: How did your upbringing, if at all,
influence your education/career path?
E: Why Radiation Oncology?
E: Talk to me about what you were doing
prior to joining the UCLA RO Residency
Program and how the pandemic impacted
you.
M: Having worked in underserved
communities, I’ve met countless patients
without access to cancer care. As a medical
student, it was unfortunately very common to
see patients delay their care, whether it was
surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, simply
because they had to put food on the table or
because they had to prioritize sending their
kids to school. It was truly heartbreaking to
see this, and that fueled my desire to pursue
oncology. I’m interested in radiation oncology
in particular because it uses advanced
technology to give very targeted treatments,
allows for personally meaningful interactions
with patients and their families, and provides
the opportunity to collaborate with other
cancer specialists in the clinic and through
research.
M: When COVID-19 hit the Philippines, I was
a medical intern at the Philippine General
Hospital (PGH). PGH is the largest tertiary
hospital in the country, serving more than a
thousand indigent patients every day. Because
of the pandemic, PGH was immediately
converted to a COVID-19 referral center, and
all interns were pulled out of the hospital for
our safety. Despite this, I chose to stay behind,
because I knew how badly interns were
needed during this health crisis. As president
of the medical interns, I organized 120 interns
who volunteered to augment the hospital
workforce. Some interns were assigned to the
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