Facility Oakland Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine Address 280 W. MacArthur Blvd. Oakland CA 94611 (entrance on Howe St.) Map & Directions Telephone Advice/Information: (510) 752-1190 E-mail your doctor

About Me

My Credentials

Medical school	Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Internship	Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Residency	Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Board certification	Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine

I have been fascinated by emergency medicine since I took my first CPR course to become a lifeguard when I was a teenager. An interest in skiing led me to become a ski patrol member and continued my interest in first aid and emergency care. Before I knew it, I was in medical school and discovered it was the perfect specialty for me. There is an immense feeling of satisfaction and confidence that comes from knowing if someone calls out, "Is there a doctor in the house?" that you can comfortably respond and no matter what the problem is (a woman in labor, a child having a seizure, someone having a heart attack) you will always know what to do. This is also particularly useful if you have kids!

I have always viewed the ED as a perfect opportunity to practice some preventive medicine. My philosophy has always been (corny though it sounds) that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I try to use the patient's visit to identify life style changes (exercise, smoking cessation, seat belts, bike helmets, etc.) that will hopefully keep them from visiting us in the ED (unless it is for social reasons to say hello).

I have been with Kaiser for 6 years, having left a predominantly academic career to spend more time in direct patient care.

I am one of a handful of physicians in the country who have done graduate work in education and have a PhD in education from Stanford University. I have always enjoyed teaching, and was the recipient of numerous teaching awards, when I was a faculty member at Stanford. While there, I was also responsible for starting their standardized patient program (an innovative way of using actors to portray patients in order help train medical students in doing physical exams and taking histories, as well as improving their communication skills). I served as a consultant for many years to ECFMG and helped develop the examination that is given to foreign medical graduates who want to continue their training/practice in the United States. In addition, I have always had an interest in educational research and have published over 50 articles in various medical journals.

I have numerous outside interests. Most recently, I have served for the past four years as a volunteer doctor at the Burning Man festival. Fellow "burners" should look me up at the medical camp located around 9 o'clock at the first aid outpost. I have always enjoyed the outdoors and for a number of years taught some very popular wilderness medicine courses at Stanford's Continuing Studies Program.

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

This site may contain links to other web sites outside of www.permanente.net. Kaiser Permanente has no control over the content or the availability of these sites, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Web links are provided as an educational tool, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. A link or reference to a web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its contents. Any medical content that you feel may be important to your health should always be discussed with your Kaiser Permanente physician.