| A phone call from my sister Nancy on May 20, 1978, is the reason
that I have this opportunity to introduce myself to you.
I grew up outside of Philadelphia in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the
fourth of five children of two physicians. With sixteen doctors
in three generations of my family, I clearly inherited a "doctoring
gene," but being strong-willed and independent, I never considered
medicine as a career.
I attended Northwestern University along with my two closest sisters
and then made my way to Northern California to start graduate work
in Zoology at UC Berkeley in 1967. Arriving in Berkeley during the
"Summer of Love," I felt like I'd finally come "home."
Maybe I hadn't actually been dropped here from a foreign planet
after all! Berkeley in the 60's and 70's - what a time of change
and growth! I'd always loved being in nature and became an avid
backpacker, often taking solo trips in the High Sierra. I learned
how to cook, jogged three miles a day in Tilden Park, became politically
active, replaced the clutch in my Mazda, built bookshelves, etc.
I finally completed a Ph.D. in cell biology,
and because of a life-long interest in athletics, began a post-doctoral
fellowship in exercise physiology at UCB (I was a jock in high school,
playing hockey, basketball and lacrosse).
As rich as these years were, the most meaningful thing I did then,
or have done since, was help my sister Nancy raise her children,
Peter and Amy. Nancy's husband left when Peter was four and Amy
was three, so I was blessed to become their second Mom. Peter is
now 31 (doing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology) and Amy is 30 (starting
up her own business aftter
working in high tech).
On May 20, 1978, a phone call from Nancy turned my world upside
down. Out of the blue, she shared a dream she'd had of me walking
around a hospital in a white coat with a stethoscope around my neck!
"Would you actually go to medical school if you ever got accepted?"
she asked. Without hesitation, I found myself answering, "In
a heart beat!" At 35, I did not relish
relearning organic chemistry after twelve years, but after getting
off the phone with her, I called Stanley Kaplan, and signed up for
the one remaining place in their review class to take the MCATs
that fall.
UCSF has been my medical home since the fall of 1979 when I got
accepted from the wait list as the oldest student in the class of
1984 (thanks to Virginia Ernster who interviewed and went to bat
for me). I somehow convinced the Primary Care Internal Medicine
Residency Program here at Parnassus to take me on as a resident
and have stayed on as a member of the faculty in the Division of
General Internal Medicine ever since. I have also been fortunate
to serve as the Director of Education at the Osher Center for Integrative
Medicine at the Mt Zion campus.
I've always felt that I have the best job at UCSF, being able to
combine patient care with teaching. Although I stepped down from
being one of the co-directors of FPC several years ago, I am delighted
that they still let me teach in the course! One of my greatest joys
is being able to participate in and witness the development of students
and residents as they grow into mature physicians, so I am honored
to be a part of the
Advisory Colleges.
On a personal note, I live in the outer Mission in a small community
called St. Mary's Park. Working in the garden, ballroom dancing,
hiking, studying Tibetan and American Sign Language, learning about
alternative and complementary medicine, etc. are some of the activities
that help bring
balance to my life.
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