PGY-1
Mary Armbruster
I listen to murder podcasts to fall asleep at night
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Undergrad: University of Colorado, Boulder
Medical School: Rocky Vista University
Hobbies: Spending time with family, weight lifting, rafting, climbing, being outside
Pets: My family has 2 chocolate labs named Tibby and Bailey!
If Not ER: OB/GYN
If Not a Doctor: Physician Assistant
Favorite Band: Fleetwood Mac
Favorite Book: The Emerald Mile
Best Star Wars Character: I've never seen Star Wars...
Favorite Sports Team: Colorado Avalanche
Best of Palm Springs: No cold, snowy winters!
Worst of Palm Springs: Price of gas...
Caroline Baber
I've never had a full cup of coffee
Hometown: Portland, OR
Undergrad: Western Washington University
Medical School: Western University - NW
Hobbies: Biking (road and mountain), snowboarding, backpacking, climbing, surfing – basically anything that gets me outside and active
Pets: 6-year-old tabby cat named Felix
If Not ER: Family medicine
If Not a Doctor: Ecologist or Botanist
Favorite Band: Jack Johnson
Favorite Book: Educated by Tara Westover
Best Star Wars Character: Yoda
Favorite Sports Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Best of Palm Springs: Stoked for the biking, hiking and climbing in the area
Worst of Palm Springs: Worried that I'm going to melt in the summer heat
Jacob Brown
I lived in a 4Runner in a Walmart parking lot for a month
Hometown: Glide, OR
Undergrad: Oregon State University
Medical School: Western University - NW
Hobbies: Spearfishing, yoga, climbing, trying to learn the bongos
If Not ER: Family medicine
If Not a Doctor: Astronaut or bongocero
Favorite Band: Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, Kool and the Gang
Favorite Book: Catch-22
Best Star Wars Character: Ben Kenobi
Favorite Sports Team: Go Beavs
Best of Palm Springs: Sunshine
Worst of Palm Springs: Lots of sand but no beach
Summer Burke
I got my PADI certification in Ko Tao, Thailand
Hometown: Temecula, CA
Undergrad: UC Santa Barbara
Medical School: Kansas City University
Hobbies: All sorts of arts and crafts: drawing, painting, macrame, resin casting, printmaking… anything that strikes my fancy! I also love houseplants, hiking, and playing volleyball
Pets: My little black cat
If Not ER: Internal Medicine, specializing in palliative/end of life care
If Not a Doctor: An artist, selling my little creations and probably eating too much instant ramen as a result
Favorite Band: America
Favorite Book: House of Leaves
Best Star Wars Character: Jar Jar Binks
Favorite Sports Team: Kansas Jayhawks!
Best of Palm Springs: The weather! I love desert heat
Worst of Palm Springs: The cost of living
Rich Clifford
I love submarines and anything nautical
Hometown: Waukesha, WI
Undergrad: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Medical School: Western University
Hobbies: So many! Indoor plants, painting, cooking, foreign languages, billiards, video games, reading, Tarot
Pets: One wonderful dog (Clarke)
If Not ER: Cardiology, psychiatry or orthopedic surgery
If Not a Doctor: A teacher
Favorite Band: Steely Dan
Favorite Book: Dune, Hardwired, The Dark Tower series, Infinite Jest, The Stranger, I Robot, Neuromancer
Best Star Wars Character: Jango Fett or General Grevious
Favorite Sports Team: The Packers!
Best of Palm Springs: Diverse population and so many fun things to do
Worst of Palm Springs: Has anyone mentioned the heat yet?
Taylor Dawson
I spent time in a group home growing up and was adopted
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ
Undergrad: Arizona State (Go Devils!)
Medical School: Midwestern University (Arizona)
Hobbies: Recently, more kid-related activities (for obvious reasons); I also love coffee, retail therapy (w/o kids whenever possible!), and when the weather is nice, more outdoor activities (festivals/farmer’s markets/hiking/etc.)
Pets: We have a 13-year-old Australian Shepard/Border Collie mix named Chase who we adopted when he was 8-weeks old and was our first and now only surviving fur baby!
If Not ER: Anesthesia or OB/GYN
If Not a Doctor: Teacher or serial student (getting different degrees my whole life)
Favorite Band: I’m mostly a country music fan, but also enjoy some classic rock (Journey, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, etc.)
Favorite Book: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey and the follow-up My Friend Leonard (controversial memoir but great books!) My favorite genre is definitely memoirs/autobiography-type books—Russel Brand’s book My Booky Wook is also great!
Best Star Wars Character: My 4-year-old son, Madden, would definitely argue for Baby Yoda (he won’t agree that it is actually not Baby Yoda) or the Mandalorian, but I would argue for Boba Fett.
Favorite Sports Team: Patriots! (Especially when Tom Brady was QB)
Best of Palm Springs: It has a small-town feel, but still has all the major stores/shopping/food of a major city
Worst of Palm Springs: Even though we found a great home to rent in a great gated community, it is still quite expensive!!
Aaron Deatherage
I have done surgery on a sheep
Hometown: Running Springs, CA
Undergrad: Cal State San Bernardino
Medical School: Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Hobbies: Reading, video games, foodie, tennis hanging with son
Pets: Greg (Cat)
If Not ER: OB/Gyn
If Not a Doctor: Nurse or paramedic
Favorite Band: A Day to Remember
Favorite Book: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Best Star Wars Character: Anakin
Favorite Sports Team: LA Kings
Best of Palm Springs: Being in an area with so many things to do!
Worst of Palm Springs: The sun/heat
Megan Flanagan
I used to work in a lab that did research on giant sea slugs called Pleurobranchea
Hometown: Hickory Hills, IL
Undergrad: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Medical School: Western University
Hobbies: Hiking, rollerblading, anything else outdoors (camping/surfing/skiing), reading, arts/crafts
Pets: I just adopted a dog (herding mix/mutt) named Clark. I was his handler for 3 years at a previous job. He is now retiring to Palm Springs with me!
If Not ER: Surgery, family medicine or OB/GYN
If Not a Doctor: Field biologist
Favorite Band: Mac Demarco
Favorite Book: Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Best Star Wars Character: Kylo Ren (because Adam Driver)
Favorite Sports Team: Uh...sports? Go sports!
Best of Palm Springs: Proximity to the mountains and ocean. The city itself is quirky, fun and walkable with NO traffic
Worst of Palm Springs: My air conditioning bill
Karina Munoz
I’m terrified of rollercoasters, even the ones at Disneyland
Hometown: Palm Springs, CA
Undergrad: UC Riverside
Medical School: Western University
Hobbies: Anything outdoors (hiking, skiing, off-roading), spending time with family, photography, sports, eating, jigsaw puzzles
Pets: Rollie (German shepard)
If Not ER: OB/GYN
If Not a Doctor: Something sports related or entrepreneur
Favorite Band: Don’t have one, but anything country
Favorite Book: Tuesdays with Morrie
Best Star Wars Character: Never watched any Star Wars movies
Favorite Sports Team: Angels
Best of Palm Springs: My hometown, good food, easy to travel to the beach and mountains
Worst of Palm Springs: The wind, not the heat
JonAngelo Perry
I've snowboarded down a volcano
Hometown: Twain Harte, CA
Undergrad: UC Davis
Medical School: Kansas City University
Hobbies: Snowboarding, cooking, guitar, golf, climbing, camping, sports, music festivals
Pets: Our dog Louis
If Not ER: Orthopedics
If Not a Doctor: A professional snowboarder
Favorite Band: Zach Bryan, Hot Mulligan, Bon Iver
Favorite Book: The Book Thief
Best Star Wars Character: Darth Maul
Favorite Sports Team: San Francisco Giants
Best of Palm Springs: All the outdoor activities, golfing, laying out by the pool year-round
Worst of Palm Springs: The heat, the heat, and probably the heat