Member Spotlight on Rachel Clement, MD, FASA

Works at: Wenatchee Valley Medical Group/Confluence Health, Wenatchee.

In practice: Eight years.

Specialty: Anesthesiology.

Why WSMA: The WSMA is where the practice of medicine and the factors that influence that practice come together. It is where physicians and physician assistants can bring their clinical experience and translate those individual moments into improving care for our patients and ourselves at the state and national levels. I joined the WSMA board after the pandemic when I was feeling both exhausted from what we had just lived through, and desperate to give more to a profession that had stepped up despite overwhelming challenges, risk, and sacrifice. It was with the WSMA that I saw people bring their expertise and experiences to the conversation, and work with respectful passion to make healthcare better in Washington state. Getting to know the board, delegates, and the WSMA advocacy team opens your world, reminds you that you are not alone in the struggles within medicine, and provides you with a path forward to make a difference.

Proud moment in medicine: I am proud every time the OR team surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and techs come together during emergency cases for critically ill patients and work together at the highest level. Communication is clear and calm, everyone knows their role and anticipates next steps, and the entire team supports each other while taking care of the patient. The closeness and trust that develop with these experiences makes you want to keep coming back to work.

Top concerns:

• Medicine: The shortage of physicians, differing and sometimes conflicting goals and priorities for health systems and physicians, loss of the physician voice in health system decision-making, and waning public trust in evidence-based medicine.
• Health care: Patient access to care, particularly in rural areas; insurance coverage for patients, especially with H.R. 1 changes; and adequate funding of CMS.
• Anesthesiology: Shortage of anesthesiologists, burnout/moral fatigue, litigation.

Inspired by: Seeing physicians in the WSMA who are doing so much in addition to their day jobs to make health care better for patients and physicians in Washington.

Challenges to our profession:

• Federal government: Funding cuts to medical research, vaccine mistrust and misinformation, H.R.1 and patient access to insurance. Patients will continue to be sicker, and resources will be more limited.
• Social media: There has been a public devaluation of physician knowledge and training. People are turning to other resources to understand their health and medical conditions, and physicians have not, for many reasons, caught up with this shift.
• Physician shortages: This is impacting every specialty and will continue to affect patient care with respect to access and quality.

Why the “Your Care is At Our Core” campaign matters: Patients interact with the health system through their physicians. This means that physicians are often erroneously blamed for the challenging and dysfunctional aspects of the healthcare system. “Your Care is At Our Core” works to bring physicians and patients together through education, testimonials, and advocacy so that the patient-doctor relationship is protected. In my own health system, I see how frustrating it is for patients who cannot get in to see specialists, who have surgeries cancelled because of prior authorization requirements, and who blame their physicians because they don’t know where else to turn. In fact, physicians and patients are more aligned than any other entities in medicine, and this campaign is working to share that message so that we can work together rather than allow the chasm to grow.

“It was with the WSMA that I saw people bring their expertise and experiences to the conversation and work with respectful passion to make health care better in Washington state.”

Why I’m a physician: I came into medicine gradually. Both of my parents are physicians-my mother was an internist, and my father was an internist-turned-anesthesiologist. They never pushed me towards medicine, but they loved their jobs so much that I had very high expectations of how much I should love my own career, whatever that became. We were one of those families that talked about work at the dinner table, and my brother and I would listen to stories about challenging cases and interesting patients. I would read my parents’ medical textbooks, especially the ones with graphic pictures of disfiguring diseases. I always wanted to hear more and learn more, but I also had insecurities about whether I was capable enough to pursue medicine. I tried other jobs in public health, outdoor education, and medical billing, but could not shake the idea of becoming a doctor. Five years after college, I decided to try and I haven’t looked back.

Why my specialty: I initially chose anesthesiology because I loved my rotation and the people I met-the anesthesiologists were brilliant, humble, and knew how to control chaos. I had also seen my father go from being an internist struggling with being pulled in so many directions to an anesthesiologist who loved every minute of every day. Now I love tweaking anesthetics to perfection, micro-adjustments to keep the patient as homeostatic as possible. I love the procedures-nerve blocks, intubations, lines. I love being comfortable in an emergency and remaining calm despite ambient frenetic energy. I am also grateful that I do not have a clinic and the pressures that go along with that. I love the breadth of cases, working with so many different specialties, and knowing that my priority is always to keep patients safe.

If I weren’t a doctor, I’d be: A mom for the next eight years. And then I would go back to work as an anesthesiologist. I cannot think of a better job than this one, and as I said above, I have tried. However, I had my children during training, and I have always carried guilt about how absent I have been for them. If I could be home with my family for a few years and learn to sleep like a normal person again, I would be so happy.

Leadership lessons: There are at least two sides to every story. It always comes back to communication. If there is conflict, it can be traced back to communication. If a project succeeds or culture improves, it is because of communication. Listen, ask questions, and stay curious.

Best advice: Don’t let something live rent free in your head. Either do something about it or set it aside.

Spare time: I spend as much time as possible with my kids, 10 and 13, and my husband. My husband is the “GOAT”-supportive, funny, endlessly patient. Our kids are growing up at an accelerating pace, and I try to enjoy and be present for every moment I can despite call, meetings, and other responsibilities. I love mountain biking (rode today out my back door), hiking (just did Fourth of July/Icicle Ridge, and am still sore), cooking/baking (cookie dough is a common dessert in our house because we cannot wait long enough to actually heat the oven), and canoeing (Ross Lake is my favorite lake in Washington). I am also on boards for our local Y (we are building a beautiful new space that opens this fall), and the Washington State Society of Anesthesiologists.

Three goals for the year ahead: Sleep hygiene. I am always working on communication and continue to work on not taking things personally and remaining curious rather than making assumptions. Attend the WSMA Legislative Summit in January.

What most people don’t know about me: I played ultimate frisbee in college and throughout my 20s. Ultimate is how I met my husband, and it is responsible for many of our closest friends. The culture of this sport brings out the best in people. If your kids are talking about quitting basketball, and instead playing ultimate, do not worry. They will stay in shape, get to travel, and meet welcoming, interesting, hilarious people.

Pet peeves: Clutter. Post-call fatigue-the nausea, thermodysregulation, and complete exhaustion after a rough night. Indirect communication-I am from the East Coast and appreciate someone who says what they mean and means what they say.

Recommended reading: It took me five years after finishing residency to remember how to read for fun. Now I usually have an audiobook and a couple of print books going at the same time, trying to make up for lost time. I am reading three books right now:

• “Yesteryear,” by Caro Claire Burke. This was recommended by Dr. Kelly Casperson at breakfast during the WSMA Leadership Development Conference in May.
• “Wild Dark Shore,” by Charlotte McConaghy. This is a book about isolation, climate change, and parenting, with suspense that grows throughout the book.
• “Of Boys and Men,” by Richard Reich. This book is about the struggles that men and boys are experiencing in the United States today. Despite my initial reluctance to engage in this topic, I am the parent of two boys, and we have to look out for each other. It would be irresponsible of me to ignore this conversation.

This article was featured in the July/August 2026 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA’s print magazine.