Pritha Dewanjee, DO
Hometown:
Carlsbad, CA
About Me:
I received a B.S. in biology with a minor in comparative literature at the University of California, Irvine (go anteaters! Zot, zot!!). I then went to medical school at Touro University Nevada near Las Vegas. Now I am back to California to continue my training here at Valley Children’s! I pursued a career in medicine because I wanted to help resolve the inequities in access to healthcare that I saw in my community. I chose to be a pediatrician not only because it is incredibly fulfilling to help a child to grow and thrive but also because I can influence a whole family to make healthy choices just to support a single child’s well-being. I would love to improve the community around me even if it is by helping one child at a time!
What I Love About Valley Children’s:
I love the grassroots origins of the hospital, our culture of kindness, our dedication to the children of Central Valley, and our awesome mascot: George the giraffe!
Hobbies:
Trying new foods, walking with my colleagues and their adorable dogs, and learning largely useless trivia
Advocacy, Interests and Research Accomplishments:
I am generally interested in improving access to medicine. In college, I helped coordinate student-run mobile clinics and set up a student-run free clinic in Orange County, CA, where I engaged with Latinx, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern communities. I also researched how brain plasticity affected motor pathways in older adults after strokes. In medical school, I helped coordinate LGBTQ+ and reproductive health medical education. Currently, I am involved in a creating a resident curriculum for LGBTQ+ health.
Care Philosophy:
I have always been motivated to provide empathetic care. I strive to communicate with patients and their families effectively so I can understand them as a whole, including not just their health but their emotional and social identities as well. I appreciate each patient’s unique experiences in life and work to use that appreciation to provide nuanced, personalized medical care to the best of my ability.