San Jose native Dr. Rita Nguyen is spending most of her two-week summer vacation on a bus, visiting the Republican and Democratic National Conventions with one goal in mind: spreading the word about affordable quality health care for all.

As a member of Doctors For America, a group of 15,000 U.S. physicians and medical students working to improve the health of the nation by ensuring that everyone has access to health care, Nguyen is passionate about the tour's message, called "Patients Over Politics."

"We don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat," said the 28-year-old Mt. Pleasant High School graduate, who went on to Stanford University and then Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"What we care about is what's good for our patients and communities, and we've seen how the Affordable Care Act has helped our patients. We don't want to see it weakened, delayed or repealed. This is about patients' lives and that should be the bottom line. Not the politics."

Nguyen was at the GOP convention in Tampa and on Monday arrived at the Democrat's convention in Charlotte, N.C., where she and 50 others, mostly doctors and some patients, are providing preventive care to the public, including blood pressure and diabetes screening.

At the same time, they're gathering signatures for petitions the group hopes to deliver to politicians in Washington, D.C., before the Nov. 6 presidential election. So far, she said, the tour has garnered

"The one resounding thing is that people are very interested to hear what doctors have to say about the Affordable Care Act," said Nguyen of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and referred to by many as Obamacare. Backers say the law is aimed primarily at decreasing the number of uninsured Americans and reducing the overall costs of health care.

But others want to see the law overturned. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney calls Obamacare "the wrong approach," saying it will make America a less attractive place to practice medicine, discourage innovators from investing in lifesaving technology, and restrict consumer choice.

Nguyen can't recall a time when she wasn't volunteering or getting involved, whether it was painting her middle school gym or serving as president of her high school community service club.

While an undergrad majoring in human biology at Stanford, she co-founded a free health clinic at San Jose's Overfelt High School that helped mostly Spanish and Vietnamese immigrants.

Read the rest here:

San Jose physician pushing for equal health care access at both political conventions