I love stories.  I always have.  My parents instilled in me a desire to do my personal best, be self-sufficient (read that: financially independent) and to explore my passions.    I chose Northwestern University in Chicago (2000 miles from my hometown) to make my own way.  I challenged myself educationally and honed my skills.  Psychology was a great major as I love human behavior.  I enjoyed art history, architecture, and women’s studies – an advantage of a great liberal arts school.

 When I entered medical school I considered psychiatry and found the mental pathology was more than I desired.  I was primed to be an obstetrician until I realized that I’d  hand over the newborns to another physician at birth.  Family medicine allows me the breadth of medicine—to care for everyone– with the interrelationships and connections that I enjoy.

 I taught medical resident physicians for 12 years but recently I yearned for more patient contact.  During my new patient visit, I get to know them by discussing their past medical and social history so that  I truly know who my patient is and how I can help. 

This is the life I was to lead.  What a privilege and a joy it is to have passion for the entirely of my job.