When I graduated high school, I never dreamed of becoming a physician. It wasn’t until I went to college in Pharmacy school where I became infatuated with the healing powers of doctors and medicine.

So off to medical school I went and I specifically pursued a career in Ob/Gyn as I thought it had the correct balance of primary care, continuity of care and surgery. Personally, I have focused much of my career with specific interest in minimal invasive gynecologic surgery. Being able to remove a diseased organ (Uterus/Ovary) with “minimal invasion” to the patient can have a profound impact on her life. She can return to normal functioning, regaining her life back often within a few days of the surgery. This is truly amazing, but, along this same reasoning, I have come to realize, how little doctors know about the human body. Many things we believe now, we won’t believe in ten years. Much of what I do on a day to day basis doesn’t cure patients any faster or better than if the patient never saw me in the first place. In fact, a lot of what I do is often just reassuring a patient she doesn’t have some horrible disease.

Understanding human nature is what truly empowers a physician. If I have learned anything in my career, it’s the following….

If I just listen to a patient and imagine what she is experiencing, then and only then, will I have been empowered. Warmth, empathy, and understanding far outweigh the healing powers of modern medicine including medical advances.