UCSF Fresno celebrated the 2023 Resident and Fellow Commencement on June 15. Victoria Green, MD, completed a three-year residency training program in Internal Medicine and is staying to complete a three-year UCSF Fresno Gastroenterology Fellowship.
Residency is the required hands-on clinical training (postgraduate training) when clinicians fine tune skills under the guidance of attending faculty members prior to practicing independently. Fellowships are advanced training after residency and are instrumental to retaining residents who wish to continue their medical education in a particular sub-specialty.
Dr. Green grew up in Kingston, Jamaica in the Caribbean. She went to Campion College for high school and then entered medical school at University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica. She completed five years of medical school and one year of medical internship. She then moved to the Bay Area to be with her husband while he completed his PhD. She worked for two years in research at Stanford and then worked as a medical scribe in an asthma and allergy clinic to gain more hands-on experience before matching with UCSF Fresno for residency.
Dr. Green’s spirit of helping others is deep rooted. She comes from a family of medical professionals who believe serving others, especially those who are vulnerable, is a privilege. She observed that family tradition at a young age and realized the significant disparities faced by the Jamaican population.
“Because of this I’ve always been driven by learning how best I can help others, especially those who are underprivileged and underserved.” she said.
She loves Internal Medicine for its range and depth and is excited to start her fellowship because of the advancements in the field of GI, the diverse pathology and acuity as well as the inpatient and outpatient aspects.
She is proud of her dedication over the past decade. She recalls a dream board she created detailing her path from medical school to fellowship. The path may have looked different than she imagined at the time, but she made it from point A to point B with the help of her “village,” she said.
In her spare time, she likes to explore the food scene with friends or have potlucks, go on hikes or do nearby trails, occasionally take road trips with her partner and go back home to Jamaica as often as she can.
“I decided to stay because I truly believe UCSF Fresno is a unique program that blends the academic rigor, extremely interesting and often complex pathology, rich mentor-mentee relationships and a very diverse patient population,” said Dr. Green. “The majority of our patients are grossly underserved and I take pride in being a part of the solution to bridge that gap. I want to train in a program that not only makes me a better physician but more so a well-rounded person and this program has all the tools to support both my personal and professional goals.”
Congratulations, Dr. Green! June is National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, a fitting time to thank her for her contributions to the community and to wish her well in fellowship training.
