In the beginning I just wanted to help people. I was 9 years old when I decided I would grow up to be a doctor. Around that time, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. After spending many days in the hospital sitting in the waiting room and wondering what all these people where doing and seeing how they helped so many, I knew I wanted to know more and do THAT.
All through high school and college I was focused on that goal. I just knew I could help people and I wanted to learn more and more about doing it. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1992 with a degree in Microbiology and minor in Chemistry. I figured I could do something in science if I didn't get accepted to medical school. But, happily, I did get accepted and I graduated with my Medical Degree in 1996. I went on to do my residency in Family Medicine at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
People often ask me how I decided on Family Medicine. There are several ways to answer that. First, I love really getting to know my patients and their families. Knowing about all aspects of patients can help you understand where patients are coming from. Patients are people who happen to be sick. I always hated it when residents referred to patients as "the diabetic in room such and such" or "the heart attack guy". I quickly learned that specialists in Family Medicine understand that best.
Second, truthfully I like variety. The last thing I could imagine was staring only at a patient's feet or talking only about noses all day. In Family Medicine we treat ALL your parts. I like to think of myself as the CEO of your healthcare. While your cardiologist may concentrate on your heart and you surgeon wants to remove your gallbladder, it's my job to focus on ALL you parts and make sure ALL of you is healthy.
Finally, Family Medicine is all about KEEPING patients healthy. Preventative care is a primary focus of what we do. Understanding your family medical history helps us direct what screening and preventative tests to do. Knowing what your social life is like helps us understand what sorts of problems you might run into. Keeping track of all your past medical problems helps us know what direction to take in treatment and evaluation of new problems. As family doctors, we don't just wait for something to happen. We try to keep you healthy and detect any health problems as early as possible.
Today, I am entering my 12th year of private practice. My practice has changed and grown in size, but my approach to what I do and my love for doing hasn't changed. I am starting this blog as just one more way to help patients or even readers who are not patients. I will use this venue as a way to share important health information for you and your family. I'll also share specific information about myself or my staff from time to time and perhaps descriptions of the kinds of services I'll offer. But, this is really about a way for me to share things about me, my life and what being a family physician is like. I hope this will be both informative and entertaining for all who join me here. Thanks for reading!
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