Our School

Working as a physician in the emergency room of Brooke Army Medical Center, Cayla Fappiano '11 encounters a diverse range of patients, each with their own unique needs. While addressing the physical ailments and injuries of her patients is undoubtedly challenging, Cayla also confronts a multitude of emotional demands. In this high-pressure environment, she must be attuned to the emotional well-being of her patients, offering not only medical care but also empathetic support. Balancing the physical and emotional aspects of her role requires a delicate skill set, and Cayla's ability to provide comprehensive care sets her apart as a compassionate healthcare professional.

“I try to be empathetic with every patient that I encounter,” she said. “No one in the ER wants to be in the ER. I try to remind myself of that.”

Dealing with patient encounters can often leave healthcare professionals with a sense of moral injury, carrying the weight of those experiences long after they have ended.  To cope with this emotional burden, Cayla found solace in writing short stories about her patient encounters while she was in medical school.

By harnessing her creativity and transforming these encounters into fictional narratives, she was able to process her emotions. Through storytelling, she found healing and the ability to navigate the challenging terrain of her profession.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was going into my last year of medical school. We were pulled from the hospital because of the unknowns around COVID. I took some online classes. My Humanities & Medicine professor suggested that I do something with my stories. That is when I decided to write the book.”

Cayla reconnected with one of her professors who taught an online course in publishing at the graduate level. She took the course, gained contacts and eventually in 2022, published her short stories into a fictional novel, Failure to Thrive: A Medical Student’s Novel. The book is written under her pseudonym, C.C. Green.  

Once the book was given to the world, the Georgetown University graduate felt a little intimidated. The stories were vivid, honest and personal. “I felt like my journal was published. These are very personal stories. It is surreal to think other people are reading them.”

Cayla is pursuing a career in emergency medicine and disaster management with the United States Air Force. During medical school, she had to do approximately 45 days of military training per year. Her experiences ranged from boot camp/officer training school to aerospace training in Ohio and rotations at military hospitals. A resident at Brooke Army Medical Center, she is in the last year of her three year residency.

Cayla also isn’t ruling out the idea of a sequel to her first novel. “I have written many stories while in residency. The next book would be based on that and very different from the first one. I’ve learned a lot since I put the first book out.”