Anna Yap, M.D.

What is your favorite place to visit, thing(s) to do in, or memory from living in LA?

Funny enough, although I grew up in Southern California, I always disliked LA because I only thought about the gritty parts of LA and how hard the traffic is trying to get into LA (since I grew up more east of LA!) However, after coming back to SoCal for med school, I've slowly fallen in love with the excellent foodie scene, the sunny beaches, and unique spots you can find throughout LA. I'm so excited to actually live in LA and get to experience it even further, especially the underground arts scene and eclectic boutiques!

What are your areas of interest within EM or future career plans?

Health Policy, Admin, and EMS. I chose EM because of the intersection of medicine and public health, and I'm all about making systems better. I also think and speak a million miles a minute, so the organized chaos of the ED is my favorite place in the hospital :)

Why did you choose UCLA-Olive View for residency?

This residency was the perfect mix of excellent clinical training at all different types of sites, wonderful academic opportunities and resources (both from great off-service rotations, cool elective and leadership development opportunities.), and great name recognition. I also had a blast at our resident-faculty-applicant dinner. I knew that the folks here would be people I'd be happy spending the next four years with.

What else do you do in your free time? What hobbies do you have?

I like to photograph cool things when I can, and even jump in front of the camera occasionally. I also love PC and board games - it's a great way to have fun with your friends. I'm also a consummate adventurous foodie, and you can often find me at farmer's markets or some new restaurant in town - molecular gastronomy is my favorite! I also highly enjoy travelling and have had a blast Couchsurfing around the world, collecting various experiences, such as wearing a gold Olympic medal in Spain, staying with a blind DJ in Belgium, and performing ancient Andean rituals in Peru (and that's not even a fraction of my stories!). It's incredible experiencing the different cultures of the world while still finding out that we all still have so much in common. I'm also a podcast and policy junkie. Gotta stay up to date with everything that is going on around us. 

Are you involved in any research or national EM committees etc? If so, what?

I'm very involved with the American Medical Association and California Medical Association. As a student, I served as Speaker of the House for the AMA-MSS and have sat on multiple CMA Councils. It's been a very rewarding part of my medical career thus far, meeting with different legislators, advocating for patient groups, and even having fun drawing the ire of anti-vax folks!