Who am I and Why am I here?

Episode 1: Who is Dr. Carolina Sueldo?

Welcome to Dr. Carolina Sueldo’s YouTube channel, today is Monday July 7th, 2022 and today is the official launch.

The reason that I decided to join this space is because I am passionate about empowering women through education about their fertility. I think it's so important that women know themselves, know their bodies and know when to ask for help and when to be an advocate for themselves. So that's why I'm here and I hope that you will join me on this incredible online YouTube journey. What you will find here is little ten-minute videos about all things women's health. So the idea is that every week every Monday I will be releasing a new ten-minute video and there you will be able to learn a little bit about me and a little bit about what I do and a lot about women's health and reproductive healthcare information.

Today I wanted to start by introducing myself. I am a double-board certified obgyn and fertility specialist. Now, fertility specialists have a much longer name. We are reproductive endocrinology and infertility physicians. The short for that is REI. So you'll hear us use the term interchangeably and to be able to do what we do, there is a lot of training involved so I want today to take you on my journey of what that training looked like.

So I was born and raised in Fresno. California. My parents are both physicians. They are both from the beautiful country of Argentina. They came here to the United States in the early 70s and then ended up deciding to stay and build their family.

So I was born in 1984 and in 1999, December of ‘99, at the age of 15, my family and I decided to move to Argentina and my parents really wanted us to experience their country, and their culture while we were still young enough before we went off to college. So at the age of 15, we moved to Buenos Aires and in Buenos Aires I completed my last two years of high school and I decided to stay for medical school as well. I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do with my career. I knew that I liked to help people and I knew that I didn't want a desk job so my parents said ‘Well, if that's the case, go for the highest degree.’ I had applied to several schools here in the US. I had had a full-ride scholarship to a couple of programs, but ultimately decided that being close to friends and family and being able to go straight into a program versus having to do a bachelor's was in my best interest. So I chose to stay in Argentina and I completed a six-year medical school program there.

My last three years of medical school I was on academic scholarship. The reason that that's significant is because scholarships are not common in Argentina. They're actually quite rare, so it was a significant academic achievement to be able to do that.

While I was studying in Argentina I was taking all the exams and preparing to come back to the United States for my training as a foreign medical graduate, obviously, things were a little bit more difficult, but I was able to secure a position and was able to return to my hometown of Fresno for my OBGYN residency training. So, once a physician finishes medical school they have to then specialize in whatever they're going to be doing. And so to become an OBGYN it requires four years of training after you graduate medical school and I still work with those residents today in the same hospital and the same clinic that I trained which is very special to me. So I did four years of OBGYN of residency training in Fresno, California.

It's interesting because the year I graduated, the program actually was doing for the first time ever a Resident of the Year award and that Resident of the Year award was voted on by residents across all programs. Yours truly was the very first recipient of that Resident of the Year award. So definitely something that I held dear to my heart because I was nominated by my peers across the entire hospital.

During my OBGYN residency program I did complete some research, some outside rotations and applied for an REI fellowship and fertility fellowship. I applied broadly the year I applied there were 38 programs available and there were 42 total positions.

I was able to secure one of those spots at the University of Connecticut. They were my first choice. The University of Connecticut is well known for their research on Lupron Trigger, and we'll have more to come on that in future episodes. But it was a very, very rigorous training program and I really learned a lot during my experience there. From a life standpoint, I realized I definitely did not want to live in the Northeast long term. And so when I graduated being a single female professional. I decided that the Northeast was not for me. I was not quite ready to return back to Central Valley and therefore decided to take a job in South Florida. I joined IVF Florida. It's a large program in South Florida, they're in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, so they are across those three counties and I was one of the physicians for that large program. I was there for three years. During those three years, I was able to have my private practice work closely with my colleagues. But also I was able to teach residents and students which I love.

After three years I met my now husband Brady and we decided together that we would move back to Central California. First we went to Africa, we did a safari trip. I then did two weeks in Europe with my best friend from Medical School of Virginia and after that we packed up our car. We drove across the country on a seven-day road trip across the country, from Miami to Fresno. And in September of 2018 we arrived here ready to start our new chapter. So that new chapter included a wedding, two babies, and our first home together. So there was a lot of first in those years. But we are very happy living here now and I'm practicing as a physician for women's Specialty and Fertility Center. I also have an academic appointment with the University of California’s San Francisco Fresno Teaching Program. So I get to teach those OBGYN residents that I once was now more than ten years ago.

What else can I tell you guys? So during my time and fellowship. I became board-certified in OBGYN and during my first two years of practice, I became board-certified in REI and I have maintained both certifications through this time. I also maintain active medical licenses both in the state of California as well as the state of Florida. As I said in the beginning, I'm passionate about empowering women through education, and I hope that you have enjoyed a little bit about my story in today's episode, as we look to now, jump into a deep dive into the fertility world.

Thank you so much for being here. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook, and I'll see you soon. Bye bye.