Phone number for Reliant Medical Group: (800) 283-2556

Dr. Janet Slota didn’t take the usual route to medical school. “I did other things before I went into medicine,” she explains. “For instance, I was a paralegal for some time. I worked on medical malpractice cases and that is how I first got interested in medicine. I realized sitting behind a desk that I wanted a more ‘hands on’ profession and that I had to change careers. So I started medical school when I was 27 and now here I am treating patients everyday.”

As a pediatrician, Dr. Slota treats a range of patients from babies to college students. However, she seems to have a special place in her heart for her youngest patients. “I really love babies. I get a lot of new babies in my practice and I just love my teeny, tiny patients. I also really enjoy treating adolescent girls, but in a different way. They have more issues, more questions, more problems – more of a tendency to be involved with things that can hurt them. There are even times when I have to fulfill a parental role for them, since some of them are basically on their own.”

With her warm and engaging personality, Dr. Slota usually doesn’t have trouble building trusting doctor-patient relationships. “The better you can get people to communicate with you, the better you can diagnose and treat their problems,” she explains. I think people just feel more comfortable talking to a person that seems more like a friend. That’s why I take a very down to earth approach when speaking with my patients.”

Dr. Slota realizes that communicating with teenagers can often be a challenge for parents and physicians. “I am very sensitive to the needs of teenagers. I want them to be comfortable enough to tell me anything. I saw a teenager recently whose family had just moved far from my office. They wanted me to keep seeing her because she opens up to me and that makes it important enough for them to drive an hour to come here. That tells me I am doing the right thing.”

Dr. Slota has come to appreciate everything that Reliant Medical Group offers. “One reason I like working here is that I can pick up the phone and get a sick patient an appointment with a surgeon the same day if I have to. You just can’t do that everywhere – most people in private practice have to send their patients to the emergency room. There have been times when I have saved children’s lives because they came in and I just saw something that wasn’t right and we were able to act in a short period of time. When you save a young child’s life, their parents never forget it.”

During her free time away from Reliant Medical Group, Dr. Slota enjoys following her favorite sports teams, exercising and spending time with her family. “I love baseball and have been a big Red Sox fan for a long time. I also like to play softball and basketball as well as go biking to stay in shape.” Dr. Slota also enjoys traveling, especially to Mexico. “I have been to Costa Maya and Cozumel and really enjoyed that. There is nothing more relaxing than a cruise.”