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Personal History
I was born and raised in Long Beach, California; the first son of two physical therapists. Long ago, when my mother returned to work at St. Mary Medical Center in 1953, there was no child care, so she took me to work with her. While she worked, the next patient in line to be treated watched over me until I could walk, and then it was the nun’s turn to gather me up from wherever I wandered throughout the hospital. One day, the mother superior of the convent running the hospital, brought me back from the administration office, where I had wandered. Exasperated, she told my father somebody had to watch me and keep me out of trouble. He, in turn, told me to ‘toe the line’ or ‘shape up or ship out’ or some other Navy term; and after my scolding, I asked him, “Dad, who gives you orders?” He replied, ‘the doctor’s do’, and I apparently told him, at age 4, ‘well then, that’s what I am going to be when I grow up, so I can give you orders’. So I guess it's fate, I ended up as a doctor.
My path took me through Berkeley (1970-1974), where I played college soccer for the Bears. I had planned to go to Oceanography graduate school at the University of Washington, but resigned from my PhD program after spending my summer off working for a religious organization that worked with inner-city drug kids; I spent the next five years oblivious to much except that cause. When the group sought to move to more affluent pastures, I chose to stay behind, and went into construction to make a living. Not long after, I fell and broke my elbow and became a patient for the first time. It totally changed my life. I felt as though I belonged in a hospital. (I suppose you could take that two ways).
I became interested in pursuing medicine as a career, and went back to do pre-med work at night while working construction during the day. I was accepted to medical school in 1984 at USC in Los Angeles. After graduation, I stayed at LA County Hospital for my Emergency Medicine Residency and became Chief Resident in 1991. I chose Emergency Medicine because it allows me to practice some trauma, some surgery (minor), some internal medicine and geriatrics, and some pediatrics (all of which I enjoyed in Medical School).
I met my wife, Joanna Osuga, while we were in residency in LA. She was at Harbor-UCLA in Emergency Medicine, and I at LAC at USC. We both were doing rotations through the Pediatrics clinic at Harbor-UCLA, and our time overlapped by two weeks. I guess it was fate we should meet. We have been together ever since. We have never been lucky enough to have human children, but our family consists of us and our two Jack Russell Terriers (fraternal twins). My free time and energy is frequently used up keeping up with them. Like human siblings, they are best friends and worst enemies at times.
Check the links below to learn more about me:
Tenure with Kaiser / Why I Chose Kaiser
Practice Philosophy
My Credentials
| University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA |
| Los Angeles County/University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA |
| Los Angeles County/University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA |
| Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine |
Kaiser Permanente Member Resources
Find a Physician
Appointments/Rx refills
Health Encyclopedia
La Guía en Español
Privacy Statement
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