Originally from the Philippines, Dr. Ma Leonor Beck enjoys her work as a hospitalist at Reliant. “I like the challenge of figuring out what is going on with the patients I care for each day,” she explains. “My mind is always working through different scenarios. For me, it’s all about the patients. When they feel better, I feel better too. I find it very satisfying to help people.”

Dr. Beck says that one of the reasons she enjoys being a hospitalist is that it allows her to focus on different areas of medicine. “I like the broad scope of being a hospitalist. I enjoy the opportunity to treat a range of medical illnesses and focus on the patient as a whole. Plus, I like the holistic approach of hospital-based medicine.”

In her work as a hospitalist Dr. Beck never forgets how important it is to listen to the patient. “I usually like to sit with my patients right on their hospital bed and talk to them. I like to feel that connection,” she explains. “For me, there’s a big difference between talking and communicating. I like to bring a personal touch to my work and get to know the patient as a person and not define them by their disease.”

For Dr. Beck, medicine is both an art and a science. “I think the science we have is doing wonderful, but the art of treating patients is a constant challenge,” she explains. “Fortunately, the technology we have nowadays is really helpful. Having electronic medical records means I can securely communicate with specialists very quickly. For instance, I can send a cardiologist an image of a heart rhythm and get an opinion back in an hour. That’s the great thing about hospital medicine – we have a lot of resources at our fingertips and we can do things very quickly to help the patient.”