I became a psychiatrist by accident. In medical school, psychiatry is a required rotation. Just by chance, I decided to do this rotation at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital. I spent a month on the adult inpatient unit. A harried resident gave me a list of patient names and directed me to meet with them for an hour every day.
I was clueless. I wondered, “What am I supposed to talk to them about?”
The more I talked with the patients, the more interested I became. I was so intrigued by the stories they shared with me. The pain that brought them to the hospital moved me. My patients looked forward to our meetings. They taught me so much.
I realized that who I was as a person was more important than what I knew.
I was accepted into the Psychiatry Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital the following year.
My Qualifications
My practice today is informed by 33 years of experience. My training at Massachusetts General Hospital began with a rigorous grounding in general medicine. I integrate a biological and psychodynamic perspective in my work.
Education:
1976 M.D., Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan
1972 B.A., Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Biology)
Licensure and Certification:
1979 Michigan License
1980 Massachusetts License
1983 Certified in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
2001 Pennsylvania License
Awards and Honors
Laughlin Fellow, American College of Psychiatrists, 1979
Postdoctoral Training:
1977-1978 Medical Intern, Massachusetts General Hospital (affiliated program at Salem Hospital), Salem, Massachusetts
1978-1980 Resident in Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
1980-1981 Chief Resident, Acute Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Academic and Teaching Appointments:
1977-1981 Clinical Fellow, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
1981-1983 Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
1983-1986 Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, The Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1986- Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, The Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts
