St. Joseph High School senior Ysabel Adoremos always knew she wanted to be a nurse. Both of her parents are nurses, and she loved the idea of working in the medical field.
After her first week in the Dignity Health Centers of the Central Coast physician mentor program this summer, Adoremos discovered her interest in the critical care unit (CCU).
“Everybody was so welcoming, and being in that section made me really want to work in the future as a CCU nurse,” Adoremos said.
She enjoyed learning about “what it really takes to be a nurse” from attending morning meetings and keeping track of charts to caring for patients. She called the experience eye-opening and recommends the program to other students who are interested in the medical field.
“The whole process is really rewarding,” Adoremos said. “I feel accomplished and more clear about my future, and I genuinely did have fun.”
Adoremos was one of 65 students who shadowed nurses and physicians two or three days a week during the two-month program, which ended on Aug. 6. Each week, the students rotated mentors throughout three local hospitals to experience working in different care areas.
The program was offered at Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, French Hospital Medical Center, and Marian Regional Medical Center. Its goal is to expose students to a variety of medical professions and inspire them to return to the Central Coast to practice, Program Coordinator Kelly Olney said. Students can get exposure to nursing, podiatry, cardiology, anesthesiology, and many more practices.
“The list goes on and on,” Olney said.
Four local physicians started the mentor program in 2001, and Marian began coordinating it in 2013. Olney is a registered nurse in the education department at Marian and has been the program coordinator for seven years.
Running the program is Olney’s favorite part of her job because she really enjoys working with the students.
“It’s really fun to see them get excited about medicine and health care,” Olney said.
The program is competitive, requiring an application and interview process. This year around 100 students applied. Students must be at least 17 years old to apply.
Olney expressed gratitude to the mentors who participated in the program.
“If it wasn’t for these physicians and nurses and techs allowing the students to come in and follow them around for a week, we wouldn’t have the program,” Olney said.
Kaitlyn Denissen, a pre-med sophomore at Barnard College, remembered shifts starting as early as 7 a.m. She discovered the program through a friend who participated in the nursing mentorship a couple of years ago.
“Something that really stood out to me was my hospitalist rotation, mainly because I didn’t know anything about that job before going into it,” Denissen said. “I was really shocked by how much I enjoyed it.”
Hospitalist doctors care for patients who are admitted to the hospital. Denissen said it was interesting to see the variety of patients in the fast-paced setting.
Her favorite part was meeting all the different people in the health care industry and seeing different types of procedures.
On her first day in the program, she shadowed a doctor in gastroenterology. After each patient, the doctor showed Denissen diagrams and explained everything in detail, she said.
“I walked away with a really great understanding of gastroenterology that I did not have going in, and it definitely eased a lot of my worries going into all of my other rotations,” Denissen said.
After earning her undergraduate degree, Denissen plans to conduct research and apply to med school.
“It’s less of an elusive mystery once you’ve seen what it’s like to be like in these jobs,” Denissen said. “I can visualize my future a lot clearer and see how I would fit into this industry, which I’m really grateful for.”
Students may apply for Dignity Health’s 2026 summer mentor program when applications open at the end of February. Learn more information about the program at dignityhealth.org.
Highlights
• Guadalupe Social Club hosts family game day on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. with board games, Jenga, Connect Four, and more. The venue is located at 945 Guadalupe St. in historic downtown Guadalupe and is known for offering high-quality, affordable wine, beer, and food. Call (805) 356-6018 for more information about Guadalupe Social Club’s offering.
• Every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Steller’s Cellar, a wine and beer bar, hosts a bar takeover. Each night features a wine flight from a different local winery. The winemaker or a winery representative takes over the bar, pouring wines and answering customers’ questions. Find Steller’s Cellar at 400 E. Clark Ave. in Orcutt. To learn more, call (808) 623-5129.
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 21-31, 2025.
