Episode 234: WDx #16 – Clinical Unknown with Dr. Alexandra “Jay” Teng

Dr. Blythe Butler presents a case to Dr. Alexandra “Jay” Teng, followed by a discussion about her experience as a woman in an Internal Medicine procedural subspecialty.

Alexandra “Jay” Teng

Alexandra “Jay” Teng hails from Berkeley and graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in history and science. After college, she worked at UCSF as a clinical research coordinator and patient navigator for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, helping them prepare questions for their doctor and accompanying them to appointments. That experience helped convince her to pursue medicine. Dr. Teng earned her medical degree from UCSF, then completed internal medicine residency at UCLA. A competitive skier, she was originally interested in orthopedics, but she had a dramatic pivot at the end of her first year of medical school. “On the morning of my last final, I went into cardiac arrest and was admitted to Moffitt Hospital,” she said. The hospital team did an extensive workup, eventually diagnosing her with a rare condition called congenital long QT syndrome and implanting a cardiac defibrillator to prevent future life-threatening complications. “I was incredibly lucky, and feel a very personal connecting to cardiology,” she said. “I feel fortunate to train in the place and with the people who saved my life.”She completed Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology subspecialty fellowship at UCSF. She now works at Kaiser.

Blythe Butler

Blythe Butler is a first-year internal medicine resident at the University of California, San Francisco. She grew up in Spokane, Washington and attended Dartmouth College where she studied chemistry and mathematics. She went on to pursue a career in education and spent four years teaching general and AP chemistry as a high school teacher in San Jose, CA. She decided to switch careers to pursue medicine and completed medical school at UCSF. She enjoys running through Golden Gate Park, hiking and backpacking, and baking. Her career interests include medical education, communication in medicine, and health equity.

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