Bio
What are your specialties and certifications?
AOBFP Certified Family Medicine Doctor
Is there any other notable training we should know about?
Trained to practice Osteopathic Manual Treatment or OMT.
Why did you go into medicine? Why did you choose your particular field?
I worked as a recruiter for a Montana State University right out of college
and witnessed first hand the great need for primary care in rural Montana.
It is a great privilege and pleasure to join the Corvallis Family Medicine team.
What are some of your clinical interests?
Pediatric Care, Women's Health, Transgender Care, Substance Abuse,
Musculoskeletal Conditions.
What do you love about practicing medicine?
Meeting people and helping solve problems.
"It is a great privilege and pleasure to join the Corvallis Family
Medicine team."
What is your philosophy of care?
Founded in Principles of Osteopathic Medicine:
- The body is an integrated organism that functions as a unit
- The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing and health maintenance.
- Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
- Rational treatment is based on understanding and applying the above principles.
What do you most want people to know about the way you practice medicine?
I practice evidenced-based patient-centered care.
What can your patients expect during an appointment?
To be listened to and to work towards solutions.
What do you wish you could tell every patient (and they would actually
do) and why?
I wish every patient had the time and energy to take a moment to focus
on deep breathing at some point throughout the day: this helps with addressing
the tone of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (fight/flight
and rest/digest nerves), improves vascular health and has been noted to
improve your immune system.
What have your patients taught you?
There are as many different ways to solve a problem as there are problems.
Who is someone you admire, and why?
I admire people in my family, especially my parents and siblings, as they
have showed me how to remain resilient in the face of desperation and
never underestimate the importance of a well-timed joke.
Where did you grow up?
I went to high school in Pocatello, ID and moved to Missoula in the 1990s
for college. I plan to die here, just not any time soon.
What brought you to the Bitterroot Valley?
I have family in Hamilton, two of whom are the best nephews an aunt could
ever imagine!
What do you enjoy about living and working in a small community like ours?
It is important to me to make connections with the people I serve as a
doctor and I feel that is best accomplished in a community like this!
"I have family in Hamilton, two of whom are the best nephews an aunt
could ever imagine!"
Living in such a close-knit community, how do you create a successful work–life balance?
Well, to be fair, I am only starting so I don't know if what I am doing
is successful. I do value being outdoors as well as spending time with family.
What are some of your non-professional interests and favorite hobbies?
Snow sports (cross country skiing, snowboarding, skiing), hiking, music.
Is there anything about you that might surprise people?
During my pursuit of becoming a doctor, I have spent time as a phlebotomist,
massage therapist, volunteer ski patroller, researcher.
What would be your personal motto?
"We may encounter defeats but we must not be defeated" (Maya Angelou).
Do you have pets?
Not since my last dog passed away.