Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month: A Reflective Interview
I’ve seen her in black slacks and a nice sweater, sipping her coffee with a hand stitched sign that reads, “per my last email,” to the right of her desk. But there is something to be said about when Brianna Tenorio slips on her long, crisp, white PA coat, embroidered with her name. Something that says, she was born to do this. Like Wonder Woman and her cape. It’s effortless. Don’t get me wrong, though. There is no change in demeanor from her pink sweater casual form to her PA coat. Brianna treats every patient who walks through ClinCloud as if they were sitting down in her office for coffee.
Brianna attended Highschool at Orangewood Christian School and her drive and passion became apparent in her early years.
“My love for science and wanting to help others,” she says is what attracted her to the field. “Medicine is like figuring out a puzzle. When you’re working up a patient for a syndrome or condition, you feel like a detective. It’s fun!”
Later came college and PA school at Advent Health University. They were not easy roads, but certainly worthwhile paths.
As we head into March, we recognize and celebrate Women’s History Month! I ask Brianna what women inspire her practice. She responds sweetly,
“I have the pleasure of working with Dr. Laird and Patti, NP (our other respective kick-butt women practitioners at ClinCloud.) They have shown me how to be a caring and thoughtful provider.”
Even when difficult conversations must be had, she broaches them with grace. We discuss the importance of representation in the healthcare field, and she speaks with a gentle wisdom beyond her years.
“Representation allows for patients to see themselves in you. As a provider you may be able to create a bond/repour based on culture similarities or interests. The representation of medicine is changing drastically and looks very different than it did 50 years ago. This also allows medicine to branch out and grow into different and much needed domains such as our LGBTQ community.”
There are myths attached to the field of clinical research, though. Legends, lore, and pasts we must outrun, but she remains witty and optimistic.
“Clinical trials are for when patients have exhausted all other options. Not true. Clinical trials can help detect if there is truly a problem! In AD, memory problems could be in the early stages and intervention could occur before memory problems get worst! Research is available and open to everyone.”
What’s her hope for her career and the future of research?
“My hope for my career is to find a disease modifying medication for treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease that displays positive results with patient report and as well as through imaging.”
I send Brianna one last email asking what her favorite quote is, and she replies without missing a beat, as if a conductor who just instructed whole thunderous movements, raises their hands delicately and waves for the denouement. She says,
“I love the quote by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel””.
