She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Neurobiology, and then from UC Davis School of Medicine. She completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at UC Davis in 1991. She then spent a year in Birmingham, Alabama with Dr. James Andrews and Dr. William Clancy in a Sports Medicine Fellowship. She was the Tuskegee team physician, and was involved in the care of top level professional and college athletes. During this time she developed a real interest in baseball and elbow injuries.