Specialty Gastroenterology Facility Oakland Medical Center Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology Address Main Hospital Building Ground floor 280 W. MacArthur Blvd. Oakland CA 94611 Map & Directions Telephone Appt/Advice: (510) 752-1282 E-mail your doctor

About Me

My Credentials

Medical school	University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX
Internship	UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Residency	UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Fellowship	UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
Board certification	Gastroenterology, American Board of Internal Medicine

Joined Kaiser in: 1986
Faculty: Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1995-present

GI allows me to see people of all ages, both genders, with a variety of interesting diseases, and even some healthy people as well. I enjoy the procedural aspect of the field, and like the instant gratification from making diagnoses and having the opportunity to treat them as well. It is very rewarding to treat a bleeding ulcer, extract a bile duct stone, remove a colon polyp, or solve a diagnostic puzzle. I have been in practice for 16 years, and every day is interesting and new.

I love my medical practice and the challenge of addressing each individual patient, but I am equally challenged by the public health issues that are reinforced here at Kaiser: how to give the best possible care to a large group of people. This helps me focus on preventative care and health policy in general.

I have been at Kaiser since 1988 as staff physician, and as subchief of GI for about 7 years. I like the group aspect of working with TPMG; it is a very supportive and motivated group of doctors who are "all rowing in the same direction". The business aspects are interesting on a large scale, but not on an individual level--I like being able to do the right thing without having to justify the cost to an insurance company. Kaiser allows me to focus on the patient, which is what I do best.

I hold an undergraduate degree for Kansas University, MD from Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas, and internal medicine and gastroenterology training from UCSF, where I remain on the clinical faculty. I also collaborate with clinical research projects at our division of research, and am involved with our own internal medicine training program, as well as teaching at UCSF. I'm a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Gastroenterologic Association. And I'm a member of Phi Beta Kappa honorary and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical honor society.

It has been an interesting journey from a Kansas farm to my present life as physician, wife (my architect husband has put up with me for over 30 years), and mother of a daughter. Ask me about my garden, the cats, and what I'm reading.

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