By Britt Benston
A fourth grade reading level.
What do those words make you think of? A lack of education? Fourth graders?
What about inclusivity?
Virginia Tancioco (M.D./MBA ’16) is driven to change health care where it is needed most. Along with her classmate, Margaret Threadgill (M.D./MBA ’16), Tancioco is working on an app to educate expectant mothers about pregnancy — and it’s all written at a fourth grade reading level. They believe that since pregnancy isn’t limited to those who are highly educated, information shouldn’t be either.
But launching this app is not her only mission.
“Margaret and I are co-founding a nonprofit called Project Pregnancy and the app is only our first product. The project is looking to do many things for the underserved community, helping those who typically have poor outcomes, so that they will have healthier kids and will be healthier moms at the same time.”
What compels Tancioco to get involved on a deeper level with helping underserved mothers has a lot to do with what she’s seen during her experience as a fourth-year OB/GYN medical student at UCLA Medical Center, and from seeing what her mother went through while working and raising five children on her own. Combine this with her many travels on which she has found herself in need of medical help in countries where the health infrastructure was lacking and it’s easy to connect the dots that led her to co-found Project Pregnancy.
“After my stint with AmeriCorps in Maryland, I taught English in Ecuador and got an ear infection from the water [which isn’t potable from the tap]. It was pretty painful. Simple access to a quick examination and medicine just wasn’t there. At that point, I was inspired to do something more health-related because I realized that by improving the health of the community, we could make an even larger impact.”
These experiences have left Tancioco with a desire to do more — as if getting an MBA and an M.D. simultaneously weren’t enough. When she has time off, she goes to countries such as South Sudan and Haiti to perform operations on expecting mothers with complications and disease. She says she gets energized from the group dynamic on these trips, not to mention from her work in general.
“It’s all about the value of team spirit with me. It applies to life,” she says, acknowledging John Wooden as an inspiration. “The success of any group depends on the success of the individual. After a team has achieved success, you have to strive to do better. You’re never done. Success is an ongoing process, you know?”
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