Meet Dr. Erika Regalado: Preparing Students for Real-World Medicine

Dr. Regalado shares how her background in pediatrics, leadership in curriculum design, and ongoing clinical practice continue to shape the student experience at AUC.

Q: Your work caring for children in the South Bronx for more than 15 years reflects a deep commitment to community health. How has that experience influenced your approach to medical education at AUC?

Working in the underserved community in the South Bronx exposed me to the realities of health disparities as well as the resilience of the families we serve. These experiences inform my approach to medical education. I emphasize preparing students not only to master clinical knowledge, but to really understand the communities they work in. Students must think critically about access to care, communication barriers, and health literacy.

Q: You transitioned from pediatric practice to academic leadership, including serving as clinical chair of pediatrics and now associate clinical dean, U.S. What were some of the defining moments or influences that led you to take on these leadership roles?

Even before serving as clinical chair, I had been the pediatric clerkship director for the medical students who rotated within my department, and I also served as the program director for the residency program. Even in clinical practice, there is a lot of teaching patients and their families. Teaching was never separate from my practice; it was woven into it. I think the change was not a sudden shift but an evolution. I recognized how much impact curriculum design and faculty development can have on learner outcomes and the impact that I can have on them.

Q: In your current role, you have educational and administrative oversight of 17 clinical sites in the United States. Can you share an example of a collaboration or initiative that you’re particularly proud of that improved the student clinical experience?

We’ve recognized the need for more structured, timely, and meaningful feedback to students during their clinical rotations and developed the Clinical Observation Form. This standardized form allows for preceptors to directly observe and assess specific clinical skills. The goal was not simply documentation, but real-time coaching. It represents a meaningful step toward strengthening the consistency and quality of our clinical training across sites, both in the U.S. and U.K.

Q: You regularly review student performance data to help guide program improvements. How does that data inform decisions, and can you share a story where data led to a positive change?

It’s true that we review performance data regularly. While our overall outcomes were solid, we noticed variability in shelf performance across rotations. We saw that students needed a more structured approach to guide their studying during clerkships. In response, we collaborated with AMBOSS (a digital medical resource for physicians and students) to release structured, clerkship-specific study plans to ensure the students are given a roadmap to success.

Q: Having served as pediatric clerkship site director at BronxCare for more than a decade, what insights have you taken from that role into your current leadership work?

Serving as pediatric clerkship director gave me invaluable insight into the day-to-day realities of clinical education. Working directly with students, faculty, and patients taught me how much the learning environment depends on clarity of expectations and strong faculty engagement.

I also learned how variability across sites, whether it's teaching style, patient volumes, or evaluation practices, can impact the student experience. This lesson informed how I approach oversight at a national level.

That's why I prioritize standardization where it matters—with clear objectives, structured feedback tools, or aligned assessments—while still respecting the unique strengths of each clinical site.

Q: How does your active clinical practice shape how you prepare students for hands-on patient care and the transition to residency?

My clinical practice allows me to ground student teaching in real-world patient care. This ensures that what they learn is directly applicable to the clinical environment. I emphasize clinical reasoning, efficiency, and communication skills that are essential in managing patients safely and effectively. This approach supports a smoother transition from medical school to residency.

Q: You’ve been involved with AUC’s Curriculum Review and Recommendations Task Force and the Curricular Mapping Committee, aligning clerkship goals with residency competencies. What has been a highlight or breakthrough from that work?

A highlight has been the fact that we were able to deliberately align clerkship goals with ACGME competencies and EPAs (entrustable professional activities) to ensure that what we expect students to learn in clinical rotations not only prepares them for the NBME and USMLE® exams, but also what residency programs expect on day one.

Q: Can you share a meaningful mentoring moment or student success story?

One mentoring relationship that stands out to me involved an AUC student I worked closely with during his pediatrics clerkship. He performed well clinically and had a natural ability to connect with patients and families. He was compassionate and attentive, qualities that can’t be taught as easily as medical knowledge.

Despite doing well in his rotations, he faced challenges during the residency match process. It was a difficult and uncertain time for him. We stayed in close contact, and I supported him as he strengthened his application and navigated that challenging period. It required resilience and persistence, but he ultimately secured a residency position.

Today, he is a successful practicing physician with multiple clinical practices, and we still keep in touch. Seeing his growth—from a dedicated but uncertain student to a confident, thriving physician—has been incredibly meaningful. Sometimes our role isn’t just to teach clinical skills, but to help students navigate setbacks and stay the course.

Q: Tell us about your research work and where it might lead.

I’m currently collaborating with another clinical faculty member and several AUC students on a medical education research project focused on optimizing undergraduate medical education (UME). While it's still early in the process, our hope is that this work will lead to targeted curricular enhancements within undergraduate medical education and potentially serve as a model for other institutions looking to more intentionally connect UME with measurable residency readiness outcomes.

Q: Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of clinical education at AUC and the preparation of students for success in U.S. residency programs?

By the time our students graduate, they are equipped with the knowledge to face the challenges of clinical practice. They’ve learned the clinical knowledge and core competencies expected of them, but they have also trained in diverse and often underserved communities. That experience shapes them.

Because many of our students rotate in areas with significant healthcare disparities, they graduate not only with clinical experience, but with resilience, cultural humility, and a deep sense of social accountability. They understand the realities of resource limitations and complex patient needs. That combination of confidence and compassion is what truly prepares them for U.S. residency programs and beyond.

Dr. Regalado’s journey from practicing pediatrician to national clinical leader reflects what defines AUC faculty: experienced physicians who remain deeply engaged in patient care while investing in student success. Through structured feedback, curriculum alignment, and mentorship, Dr. Regalado helps helps support AUC graduates as they enter residency preparation, confidence, and grounding in compassionate care.

Read more about the faculty members guiding AUC students at every stage of their journey on our Meet Our Faculty & Staff page or explore more Faculty Spotlights on the AUC Blog.