Facility Vallejo Medical Center Department of Radiology Address 975 Sereno Drive Vallejo CA 94589 Map & Directions Telephone Information: (707) 651-1000 E-mail your doctor View your preventive services

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
8:30 am 5:00 pm	7:00 am 10:00 pm	7:00 am 10:00 pm	7:00 am 10:00 pm	7:00 am 10:00 pm	7:00 am 10:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm

About Me

I became a physician in my mid-teens, philosophically, that is. I grew up in Russia – a land where suffering is a national pastime - and it spurred my desire to be in the midst of it. I felt that healing was my vocation, and so I followed that path by first becoming an orderly in the emergency room of a busy Moscow hospital at the age of 16. After two glorious years of pushing enemas, cleaning bedpans, and transporting patients to their wards, I entered the Moscow Medical Academy. I graduated six years later, meanwhile having gained experience as a nurse and later, as an ambulance physician. I finished my specialty training in 1971 and became a full-fledged radiologist.

The choice of becoming a specialist in diagnostic imaging was helped by the fact that my mother was a radiologist. My initial exposure to medicine in general, and radiology in particular, was at an outpatient clinic where my mother worked. As a child I dreamt of glory, imagining myself as an expert who is consulted by other physicians – the Doctors’ Doctor.

After immigrating to the USA in 1976, passing the necessary examinations, and finishing my radiology residency and body imaging fellowship, I started practicing in a private Los Angeles hospital in 1982. Over the next 21 years, I was offered a position at various Kaiser Permanente locations in Southern California three times. For various reasons I turned them down, but when a fourth invitation came, this time from a Kaiser Permanente facility in Northern California, I suddenly realized that when Fate comes knocking again and again, it would behoove us humans to heed her calls.

For the last three years my enthusiasm and outlook for the prospects of medicine have skyrocketed. A major source of my discontent with private practice was that I took the Hippocratic Oath to help patients, not to aid and abet accountants. In Kaiser Permanente, I have finally discovered the best of both worlds: I get to practice first-rate medicine, dedicating my entire effort to patient care, and I don't have to think about business! Here in Kaiser Permanente Vallejo, I am fortunate to have become a member of a very strong group of diagnostic imaging experts, each of whom could shine in the most exemplary private tertiary medical center. My everyday interaction with superb clinical specialists is the source of tremendous professional satisfaction.

Kaiser Permanente's emphasis on preventive medicine aligns very closely with my own philosophy on healing: the physical manifestation of a disease is the result of a lifelong neglect of psychological aspects of everyday living, nutrition, stress, etc. Healing, therefore, must begin with an internal adjustment and corrective lifestyle measures; medications are but patches on wounds.

My professional life is balanced by my wife, who is a writer and translator. I also have four cats and three nieces. I am a voracious reader and enjoy classical music, hiking, skiing, photography, traveling, hypnotherapy, and the ongoing search for the adventure around life's next corner.

My Credentials

Medical school	Moscow I.i. Sechenov Medical Academy, Moscow, Russian Fed.
Residency	Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
Fellowship	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board certification	Diagnostic Radiology, American Board of Radiology

Helpful Information for Members

Be sure to check the "Get Health Advice" and "Appointments/Rx refills" menus above for additional information regarding appointments, prescriptions, health education classes and other health-related topics. You can also click on my department link above to receive additional health information.

If you are looking for more specific information about our hospital or our clinics in the Napa Solano Service Area, you can check us out at www.KPNapaSolano.org.

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Here is some additional information you may find helpful:

• Checklist for New Members

• About Your Office Visit

• Prevention Information on Your Registration Slip

Disclaimer
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