Medical School & Motherhood

On March 21, 2025, Remy Mercer Slomoff walked to the podium for Match Day at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, ready to learn where she would perform her residency in psychiatry. Her voice cracked with emotion as she started to speak.

“This one was 10 months old when I started,” said Slomoff, patting the head of her now 5-and-a-half-year-old son, Jaden, standing by her side. She then looked at Luna, the 18-month-old baby girl she held in arms. “And she was born in my fourth year.” Turning to open the envelope, she smiled as she bent down to whisper into Jaden’s ear and, while still holding Luna, lifted him to the mic so he could make the official “match” announcement: Irvine!

So how did Slomoff manage the huge undertaking of making it through medical school as a new mom?

Daily Dance Parties & Strong Support

“There is no doubt about it — medical school is challenging and demanding,” says Slomoff. “However, after becoming a mom for the first time, between sleepless nights, constant nursing, teething and incessant fear of messing it all up, the intensity of medical school didn’t feel as daunting.”

Spending time with her son, Jaden, was a welcome break from the countless hours of studying for exams, helping to keep her “grounded” throughout. “Being a mom during medical school was a true blessing because he forced me to leave the work at work, climb trees, dig in the dirt and have daily dance parties.”

Slomoff credits her husband, Julian, for his incredible support. “Julian, who works from home, shouldered a huge amount of the parenting duties, especially during my clinical clerkship year,” she says. “He is very supportive of me pursuing my medical career, even though we’ve had to make significant sacrifices to achieve it.” Slomoff also has immense gratitude for her parents, Danny and Lucy, “for countless flights from San Francisco to Santa Ana over the years, FaceTime babysitting, and their unending love and support.”

She is also appreciative for the support she received from UC Irvine. “Medicine is historically not friendly to parents, especially birthing parents,” says Slomoff, noting that when she first applied to medical school in 2018, she had been trying to get pregnant for a year. “It just so happened that the week I found out about my acceptance to UC Irvine was the same week I found out I was pregnant!”

After some consideration, she decided to request a deferral. “Although I was nervous for their reaction, I was overjoyed that each and every person I spoke to was not just supportive but genuinely excited for me. They immediately granted my request.” Her son was born in 2019, and she started medical school in August 2020.

When she became pregnant with her daughter, Luna, she again spoke to the administration. “Nancy Guirguis and Megan Osborn helped me adjust my schedule so that I was able to take a leave of absence just following her birth for four months,” says Slomoff, “and then a second leave of absence for a year to spend that time with my kids before residency.” Slomoff spent the leave time having daily park playdates with Luna and volunteering as the room parent for Jaden’s pre-kindergarten class, helping in the classroom with art projects, and watching him progress in his jiu-jitsu lessons after school.

Desire to Make an Impact

Slomoff’s path to medical school was its own unique journey. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2011 with a one-of-a-kind social science major. “I did a ‘create your own major’ track, so the title of my major was ‘Human Health and Happiness.’” As a graduation gift, she bought herself a ticket to Thailand. “I tried scuba diving for the first time and fell in love, so I extended my trip by six months and got my scuba divemaster certification while simultaneously traveling all over Southeast Asia.”

Upon returning to the U.S., she spent the next two years in the Teach for America (TFA) program, teaching high school English in Miami Gardens, Fla.

“As my tenure in TFA came to a close, I moved back to the Bay Area to start a master’s program in Global Health at UC San Francisco,” she says, adding that while she was always interested in public health and health policy, she had never planned on pursuing medicine as a career. That changed at UCSF.

“I was inspired by the incredible mentors that I interacted with, who were excellent physicians, outstanding educators and innovative researchers,” she says. “I realized that I would feel more fulfilled if I could make an impact on both a societal and individual scale.” It took her four years to complete a postbaccalaureate program at a local community college, taking night classes while working during the day as a clinic manager for a Federally Qualified Health Center.

Health, Wellness & Movie Nights

Slomoff is now ready to start the next phase of her journey as a resident physician at UCI Health in the Department of Psychiatry. She hopes to eventually do a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry. “I hope to work in a variety of spaces, including with individuals, in educational settings, and, on a broader level, with schools, cities, and counties to address mental health needs in young people.”

In her work, she plans to incorporate lessons learned from UC Irvine’s Health Education to Advance Leaders in Integrative Medicine (HEAL-IM) program. “I joined the HEAL-IM program when it was in its infancy, because I believe strongly in the importance of integrative modalities to address wellness,” she says. “All physicians should have a basic understanding of integrative medicine, because many of their patients are using it whether they know it or not.” She greatly appreciated getting the chance to learn more about “whole person” care from clinicians at the UC Irvine Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute.

On a related note, she has a message for everyone during Mental Health Awareness month. “Don’t save your ‘wellness’ just for the month of May! Find something small and simple to incorporate every day, every month, all year long,” she stresses. “It could be taking your shoes off and walking through some grass or calling that old friend you’ve been thinking about. Building and maintaining relationships teaches us love, support, joy, commitment and reliance. Focus on connection with your loved ones.”

She will be taking her own advice for Mother’s Day, cherishing time spent with family. “We will very likely do something outside, a bike ride or swim at our local pool, and will top it off with our weekly tradition of pizza pajama movie night.”