Alumni in Medicine: Julie Son Valenzuela, M.D. ‘95

• Trauma and Acute Care Surgeon
• Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Burns, and Surgical Critical Care
• DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• Ryder Trauma Center/Jackson Memorial Hospital Miami, FL
• M.D. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• B.S. in Psychology, Emory University

Describe your responsibilities and day-to-day work.
I respond to patients who arrive with acute traumatic injuries to our trauma bay. We see a wide range of injuries from those involved in falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gun violence. At the same time, I deal with emergency general surgical problems and manage patients in the intensive care unit. It is never a boring day at work. I deal with very complex patients who are critically ill when I am called.

What is the most rewarding part of your work?
I have the rare opportunity to meet someone at their most vulnerable moments, be able to intervene to resuscitate and operate to deal with the injuries or surgical problems, manage their course through the intensive care unit and, if I am lucky, to see them go home.

How did your passion for medicine/health care begin and were there any specific experiences that had an impact on you?
My father died from lung cancer at a very young age and that exposed me to the medical field early. It made me realize the breadth and scope of the field. Then I was a Naval Flight Surgeon after medical school and deployed to Afghanistan giving me an opportunity to meet surgeons providing care to the local population and so my interest in surgery grew along with interest in global work.

How has your Moorestown Friends education served you in your career and life?
MFS allows you to explore different avenues of interest and you can be a student that does it all. It was normal to do sports, then run to band practice, and engage in various other activities. The most important aspect of the education at MFS that really was ingrained in me was the value of service.

Do you have any additional MFS stories or memories you would like to share that were influential in your life?
What I love most is seeing graduates do amazing work in such diverse fields.

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