As we arrive on our opening date my whole team and I are bursting with excitement! This process started in November of 2020 with a phone call between Dr. Banker and I. Now a year and a half later I am finally going to start a new phase of my life/career/journey here in Cañon City.
Issac Newton once said: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” What this quote represents to me is the interconnectedness of all our actions and really everything in existence. Yes, it took serious personal dedication and years of learning and re-learning to earn the title of Board Certified Family Medicine Physician, but it has taken a different kind of wisdom to understand that I did not accomplish those things in a vacuum. I aim to be humble enough to know that I do not know everything. My goal is to listen and try to understand where each person is coming from and then apply what I have learned to those situations. I will be clear about the boundaries of my knowledge and I am continually trying to expand those boundaries in a variety of ways.
Often patients want an answer for some unexplained symptoms. Sometimes an answer is difficult to find and due to this some may feel dismissed. I believe this is due to both parties (doctor & patient) wanting an answer and frustration sometimes getting the best of us. My approach to these situations is to first rule out all of the threatening diagnosis. After this it takes a good deal of insight into one’s own life and habits to pinpoint the cause. There is sometimes a period of trial and error, as right now no person can predict another persons exact reaction to almost any intervention. Some conditions can even be confirmed as they respond to treatment, so a certain degree of comfort with the unknown is required in the process of healing. As you can see this can sometimes be a lengthy process. Patience is sometimes hard to find, but often required to do a thorough job and fix the issue at hand.
Once we have reached a working diagnosis, we can move to treatment. In this category I believe honest patient input is of utmost importance. I also want my patients to know that “treatments” can and should often include things like: changes in mindset/perspective, exercise, diet changes, and other non-pill form interventions. I do encourage patient preference and input in this phase of care. Prescription medications and procedures are often life-saving and will also be discussed and encouraged when appropriate. I will do my best to provide you with a set of choices and their potential risks and benefits and hope that we can agree on the best solution for you specifically.
The body is a system of multiple complex systems layered upon each other. All of these systems are interacting with each other and performing checks and balances on each other. While our knowledge of these intricate systems is increasing every year, we still have an incomplete understanding of all the intricate workings. This is why I believe the process I have described above, patient involvement and patience from all is so important.
I hope that this will help provide insight into how we believe we can help you best. I have also added a Google Drive folder with many helpful resources as well as documents that outline our vision and model of care. This can be found under the "Community Resources" page or here: Patient Education, Handouts, Resources