Dr. Alexandra Almanzar grew up in a family filled with physicians. “My late father was a pediatrician and a great mentor to me,” she explains. “I grew up seeing him working at his office every day caring for patients. Many of my cousins, uncles and aunts are also in the medical field. So when it came time to choose a career path, medicine was a natural choice for me because it was something that I grew up with.”

After entering medical school, Dr. Almanzar decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and study pediatrics. “I love to care and treat children of all ages, they are so genuine,” she explains. “Seeing the infants and watching them grow is one of my favorite things. In the first few years they change so much as they transform from a baby to a young child. It’s really a joy to guide the parents through the first few years of their child’s health and development.”

When caring for her patients, Dr. Almanzar says it’s important to build strong relationships and communicate in a way that patients can easily understand. “When a problem needs to be addressed I will show the appropriate options for care and lay out the information in a way that everyone can clearly understand,” she explains. “And then we can decide on an approach that will offer the best outcome for everyone involved.”

One problem that Dr. Almanzar has seen a big increase in recently is obesity. “We all know that obesity is really tough to deal with. It’s a sensitive topic, especially for teenagers. Nutrition is something we try to guide families on as soon as the baby is born. There’s always a discussion about what the baby should be eating each day. If weight is becoming a problem, we try to target it as soon as we see it. Treating obesity can be difficult because it’s really the parents who are making most of the food choices and you have to get them to understand and be on board. A lack of exercise and too much time on electronic devices is also something that needs to be addressed in order to help the patient.”

When she is not busy helping patients, Dr. Almanzar enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys as well as traveling, going to the beach, and doing outdoor activities with her kids. She also likes visiting the Dominican Republic to see her family.