Member Spotlight

Someone once told Christina Tennyson, MD, that clinical medicine was a grind. Instead of veering away from the profession, she dove in. Medicine will always have its frustrations, she acknowledged.

However, “finding areas that interest me and incorporating those into clinical practice has really helped me enjoy the practice of medicine,” said Dr. Tennyson, who works at Augusta Health in Fishersville, Va.

Firefly Photography

It has also inspired her to think outside the box in her gastroenterology practice. What her patients eat and the lifestyle choices they make is a central focus of her work. In an interview, she talked about the rewards and challenges of practicing medicine in a rural area and embracing lifestyle medicine to improve the health of patients with digestive diseases.

Q: Why did you choose GI?
Dr. Tennyson: I always had an interest in nutrition. During training at medical school at NYU [New York University], I also really loved learning all I could about internal medicine. I worked with a great surgical team as a student and enjoyed being in the operating room. Although I knew I didn’t want to enter surgery, the experience encouraged me to pursue gastroenterology as it involved nutrition, internal medicine, and procedures as well as my favorite organ, the small bowel. I worked with some great mentors in gastroenterology, such as Dr. David Metz and Dr. Dave Katzka, at the University of Pennsylvania as a resident. I enjoyed taking care of patients with both acute and chronic conditions as well as the mix of doing procedures and seeing patients in the office. It also provided me the opportunity to incorporate nutrition into my clinical practice.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?
Dr. Tennyson: I enjoy helping my patients make meaningful lifestyle changes that can positively impact digestive health and well-being. I try to address topics related to lifestyle medicine in most of my clinical visits including eating more fiber/plants, exercise, positive relationships, and stress management. Many of the conditions we treat as gastroenterologists can benefit from addressing aspects of lifestyle along with our conventional medical therapies. I reinforce that attention to these areas can make a difference. I enjoy sharing recipes, books, and websites that I have found helpful.

Q: How has your job changed since you first began your career?
Dr. Tennyson: After fellowship, I joined the faculty at Columbia University and worked at the Celiac Disease Center seeing patients, teaching, and performing clinical research under the mentorship of Peter Green, MD, and Suzanne Lewis, MD. It was a great opportunity to learn and practice in a tertiary center. I later switched roles and joined a general multispecialty community practice in Brooklyn [N.Y.] affiliated with an academic medical center. After practicing in New York for 10 years, I left my clinical practice and performed locums work for several years in underserved rural areas. I enjoyed working in rural areas and took a permanent position at a community hospital in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Lightning round

What's your superpower? 
Finding fun in mundane things

Favorite movie to quote? 
The Princess Bride

What is your favorite form of exercise? 
A hike in the woods 

Name one thing on your bucket list. 
Galapagos Islands trip before my kids grow up 

Cats or dogs? 
Dogs

Summer or winter? 
Summer

Someone once told Christina Tennyson, MD, that clinical medicine was a grind. Instead of veering away from the profession, she dove in. Medicine will always have its frustrations, she acknowledged.

However, “finding areas that interest me and incorporating those into clinical practice has really helped me enjoy the practice of medicine,” said Dr. Tennyson, who works at Augusta Health in Fishersville, Va.

Firefly Photography

It has also inspired her to think outside the box in her gastroenterology practice. What her patients eat and the lifestyle choices they make is a central focus of her work. In an interview, she talked about the rewards and challenges of practicing medicine in a rural area and embracing lifestyle medicine to improve the health of patients with digestive diseases.

Q: Why did you choose GI?
Dr. Tennyson: I always had an interest in nutrition. During training at medical school at NYU [New York University], I also really loved learning all I could about internal medicine. I worked with a great surgical team as a student and enjoyed being in the operating room. Although I knew I didn’t want to enter surgery, the experience encouraged me to pursue gastroenterology as it involved nutrition, internal medicine, and procedures as well as my favorite organ, the small bowel. I worked with some great mentors in gastroenterology, such as Dr. David Metz and Dr. Dave Katzka, at the University of Pennsylvania as a resident. I enjoyed taking care of patients with both acute and chronic conditions as well as the mix of doing procedures and seeing patients in the office. It also provided me the opportunity to incorporate nutrition into my clinical practice.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?
Dr. Tennyson: I enjoy helping my patients make meaningful lifestyle changes that can positively impact digestive health and well-being. I try to address topics related to lifestyle medicine in most of my clinical visits including eating more fiber/plants, exercise, positive relationships, and stress management. Many of the conditions we treat as gastroenterologists can benefit from addressing aspects of lifestyle along with our conventional medical therapies. I reinforce that attention to these areas can make a difference. I enjoy sharing recipes, books, and websites that I have found helpful.

Q: How has your job changed since you first began your career?
Dr. Tennyson: After fellowship, I joined the faculty at Columbia University and worked at the Celiac Disease Center seeing patients, teaching, and performing clinical research under the mentorship of Peter Green, MD, and Suzanne Lewis, MD. It was a great opportunity to learn and practice in a tertiary center. I later switched roles and joined a general multispecialty community practice in Brooklyn [N.Y.] affiliated with an academic medical center. After practicing in New York for 10 years, I left my clinical practice and performed locums work for several years in underserved rural areas. I enjoyed working in rural areas and took a permanent position at a community hospital in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Lightning round

What's your superpower? 
Finding fun in mundane things

Favorite movie to quote? 
The Princess Bride

What is your favorite form of exercise? 
A hike in the woods 

Name one thing on your bucket list. 
Galapagos Islands trip before my kids grow up 

Cats or dogs? 
Dogs

Summer or winter? 
Summer

Someone once told Christina Tennyson, MD, that clinical medicine was a grind. Instead of veering away from the profession, she dove in. Medicine will always have its frustrations, she acknowledged.

However, “finding areas that interest me and incorporating those into clinical practice has really helped me enjoy the practice of medicine,” said Dr. Tennyson, who works at Augusta Health in Fishersville, Va.

Firefly Photography

It has also inspired her to think outside the box in her gastroenterology practice. What her patients eat and the lifestyle choices they make is a central focus of her work. In an interview, she talked about the rewards and challenges of practicing medicine in a rural area and embracing lifestyle medicine to improve the health of patients with digestive diseases.

Q: Why did you choose GI?
Dr. Tennyson: I always had an interest in nutrition. During training at medical school at NYU [New York University], I also really loved learning all I could about internal medicine. I worked with a great surgical team as a student and enjoyed being in the operating room. Although I knew I didn’t want to enter surgery, the experience encouraged me to pursue gastroenterology as it involved nutrition, internal medicine, and procedures as well as my favorite organ, the small bowel. I worked with some great mentors in gastroenterology, such as Dr. David Metz and Dr. Dave Katzka, at the University of Pennsylvania as a resident. I enjoyed taking care of patients with both acute and chronic conditions as well as the mix of doing procedures and seeing patients in the office. It also provided me the opportunity to incorporate nutrition into my clinical practice.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?
Dr. Tennyson: I enjoy helping my patients make meaningful lifestyle changes that can positively impact digestive health and well-being. I try to address topics related to lifestyle medicine in most of my clinical visits including eating more fiber/plants, exercise, positive relationships, and stress management. Many of the conditions we treat as gastroenterologists can benefit from addressing aspects of lifestyle along with our conventional medical therapies. I reinforce that attention to these areas can make a difference. I enjoy sharing recipes, books, and websites that I have found helpful.

Q: How has your job changed since you first began your career?
Dr. Tennyson: After fellowship, I joined the faculty at Columbia University and worked at the Celiac Disease Center seeing patients, teaching, and performing clinical research under the mentorship of Peter Green, MD, and Suzanne Lewis, MD. It was a great opportunity to learn and practice in a tertiary center. I later switched roles and joined a general multispecialty community practice in Brooklyn [N.Y.] affiliated with an academic medical center. After practicing in New York for 10 years, I left my clinical practice and performed locums work for several years in underserved rural areas. I enjoyed working in rural areas and took a permanent position at a community hospital in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Lightning round

What's your superpower? 
Finding fun in mundane things

Favorite movie to quote? 
The Princess Bride

What is your favorite form of exercise? 
A hike in the woods 

Name one thing on your bucket list. 
Galapagos Islands trip before my kids grow up 

Cats or dogs? 
Dogs

Summer or winter? 
Summer

Gastroenterologist Simon C. Mathews, MD, sees himself as a disciple of patient safety and quality improvement.

“It’s influenced the way I see medicine and the work that I do around identifying quality, not in the conventional context in a hospital or a clinic, but applying that lens to the world of technology,” said Dr. Mathews, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Bringing greater visibility to digital health technologies is part of his life’s work.

“There is now an expectation that high quality must be part of the development process of these new technologies,” said Dr. Mathews.

In particular, he’d like to see noninvasive diagnostic technologies in the gastroenterology world become more patient-centric.

Bringing somebody into the hospital is often inconvenient and disruptive. The field is heading toward technologies that can be used in the home or in an outpatient setting. “I have some research in that area, and I’d love to see it ultimately reach the patient at the bedside, if possible.”

Dr. Mathews is a member of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology and a previous mentee in the Future Leaders Program.

In an interview, Dr. Mathews discussed his push to validate health technologies in the GI field and to make them more transparent to physicians and patients.

Question: Why did you choose GI? 

Answer: I think the world of gastroenterology offers a tremendous amount of diversity in the way we manage and treat patients. There’s a huge spectrum of disease. There’s also the procedural aspect, which is very different from a lot of other medical specialties. For me particularly, there’s the opportunity to work on technology as it relates to GI, as well as research in that space.

Q: It seems like gastroenterology involves a lot of detective work. Would you say that’s true?

A: When you think of something like abdominal pain or GI symptoms, any place in the body can cause those symptoms to be present. You have to think broadly about all of the contributing factors, the whole patient as it relates to travel, pets, exposures, food, diet. You really can’t be myopic when you think about all the potential causes.

The name of the game is to provide answers whenever possible, but I will settle for getting someone feeling better, even if we don’t have the answer etched in stone.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

A: I work in an academic institution at Johns Hopkins. I really enjoy the direct connection with patients. I’ve switched mostly to a hospital-based practice, which means I’m getting patients at their sickest. It’s really a privilege to provide an opportunity for improvement or support in that context. I also enjoy the teaching and training of the next generation of folks that are going into this field. There’s so much to learn, and I think trying to set that example and teach by doing is a great opportunity, and I really enjoy that as well.

Q: Describe your biggest practice-related challenge and what you’re doing to address it.A: One of my focus areas on the research front is about providing greater transparency and validation around health technologies. How do patients know which health technologies to use? How do doctors know which ones to recommend or advocate for?

Q: Can you give an example of a technology of concern?

A: Looking at oncology and mobile apps, one study I coauthored in 2021 found that well over half did not meet physician or patient expectations. These were the most popular and highest rated apps available at the time. It shows that there’s a real disconnect between what the end users – the doctors and the patients – want from these solutions and what’s actually being provided.

There’s a flood of different solutions that are out there, and there really isn’t a streamlined way to know, as a clinician or as a patient, which ones really make a difference clinically and which ones are going to be helpful for you. And that’s been the focus of my research – understanding ways to evaluate technologies that are not so burdensome as to be purely in the realm of academics, but to be pragmatic.

Q: Who has had the strongest influence on your life?

A: I would say my spouse. She’s an academic physician at Hopkins. One of the things she has shown me is the importance of finding alignment in what you do professionally with the sort of goals that you have or the values that you hold as an individual. That’s why I’ve done some nontraditional things in my academic career. It’s really been in search of finding that alignment that matches my interests and goals, as opposed to just doing something because it’s a popular thing to do.

Lightning Round

Favorite sport: Soccer

What song do you have to sing along with when you hear it? 80s pop music

Introvert or extrovert? Introvert

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Optimist or pessimist? Realist

Dr. Mathews is on LinkedIn . His health tech blog is Digital Differential.

Gastroenterologist Simon C. Mathews, MD, sees himself as a disciple of patient safety and quality improvement.

“It’s influenced the way I see medicine and the work that I do around identifying quality, not in the conventional context in a hospital or a clinic, but applying that lens to the world of technology,” said Dr. Mathews, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Bringing greater visibility to digital health technologies is part of his life’s work.

“There is now an expectation that high quality must be part of the development process of these new technologies,” said Dr. Mathews.

In particular, he’d like to see noninvasive diagnostic technologies in the gastroenterology world become more patient-centric.

Bringing somebody into the hospital is often inconvenient and disruptive. The field is heading toward technologies that can be used in the home or in an outpatient setting. “I have some research in that area, and I’d love to see it ultimately reach the patient at the bedside, if possible.”

Dr. Mathews is a member of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology and a previous mentee in the Future Leaders Program.

In an interview, Dr. Mathews discussed his push to validate health technologies in the GI field and to make them more transparent to physicians and patients.

Question: Why did you choose GI? 

Answer: I think the world of gastroenterology offers a tremendous amount of diversity in the way we manage and treat patients. There’s a huge spectrum of disease. There’s also the procedural aspect, which is very different from a lot of other medical specialties. For me particularly, there’s the opportunity to work on technology as it relates to GI, as well as research in that space.

Q: It seems like gastroenterology involves a lot of detective work. Would you say that’s true?

A: When you think of something like abdominal pain or GI symptoms, any place in the body can cause those symptoms to be present. You have to think broadly about all of the contributing factors, the whole patient as it relates to travel, pets, exposures, food, diet. You really can’t be myopic when you think about all the potential causes.

The name of the game is to provide answers whenever possible, but I will settle for getting someone feeling better, even if we don’t have the answer etched in stone.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

A: I work in an academic institution at Johns Hopkins. I really enjoy the direct connection with patients. I’ve switched mostly to a hospital-based practice, which means I’m getting patients at their sickest. It’s really a privilege to provide an opportunity for improvement or support in that context. I also enjoy the teaching and training of the next generation of folks that are going into this field. There’s so much to learn, and I think trying to set that example and teach by doing is a great opportunity, and I really enjoy that as well.

Q: Describe your biggest practice-related challenge and what you’re doing to address it.A: One of my focus areas on the research front is about providing greater transparency and validation around health technologies. How do patients know which health technologies to use? How do doctors know which ones to recommend or advocate for?

Q: Can you give an example of a technology of concern?

A: Looking at oncology and mobile apps, one study I coauthored in 2021 found that well over half did not meet physician or patient expectations. These were the most popular and highest rated apps available at the time. It shows that there’s a real disconnect between what the end users – the doctors and the patients – want from these solutions and what’s actually being provided.

There’s a flood of different solutions that are out there, and there really isn’t a streamlined way to know, as a clinician or as a patient, which ones really make a difference clinically and which ones are going to be helpful for you. And that’s been the focus of my research – understanding ways to evaluate technologies that are not so burdensome as to be purely in the realm of academics, but to be pragmatic.

Q: Who has had the strongest influence on your life?

A: I would say my spouse. She’s an academic physician at Hopkins. One of the things she has shown me is the importance of finding alignment in what you do professionally with the sort of goals that you have or the values that you hold as an individual. That’s why I’ve done some nontraditional things in my academic career. It’s really been in search of finding that alignment that matches my interests and goals, as opposed to just doing something because it’s a popular thing to do.

Lightning Round

Favorite sport: Soccer

What song do you have to sing along with when you hear it? 80s pop music

Introvert or extrovert? Introvert

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Optimist or pessimist? Realist

Dr. Mathews is on LinkedIn . His health tech blog is Digital Differential.

Gastroenterologist Simon C. Mathews, MD, sees himself as a disciple of patient safety and quality improvement.

“It’s influenced the way I see medicine and the work that I do around identifying quality, not in the conventional context in a hospital or a clinic, but applying that lens to the world of technology,” said Dr. Mathews, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Bringing greater visibility to digital health technologies is part of his life’s work.

“There is now an expectation that high quality must be part of the development process of these new technologies,” said Dr. Mathews.

In particular, he’d like to see noninvasive diagnostic technologies in the gastroenterology world become more patient-centric.

Bringing somebody into the hospital is often inconvenient and disruptive. The field is heading toward technologies that can be used in the home or in an outpatient setting. “I have some research in that area, and I’d love to see it ultimately reach the patient at the bedside, if possible.”

Dr. Mathews is a member of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology and a previous mentee in the Future Leaders Program.

In an interview, Dr. Mathews discussed his push to validate health technologies in the GI field and to make them more transparent to physicians and patients.

Question: Why did you choose GI? 

Answer: I think the world of gastroenterology offers a tremendous amount of diversity in the way we manage and treat patients. There’s a huge spectrum of disease. There’s also the procedural aspect, which is very different from a lot of other medical specialties. For me particularly, there’s the opportunity to work on technology as it relates to GI, as well as research in that space.

Q: It seems like gastroenterology involves a lot of detective work. Would you say that’s true?

A: When you think of something like abdominal pain or GI symptoms, any place in the body can cause those symptoms to be present. You have to think broadly about all of the contributing factors, the whole patient as it relates to travel, pets, exposures, food, diet. You really can’t be myopic when you think about all the potential causes.

The name of the game is to provide answers whenever possible, but I will settle for getting someone feeling better, even if we don’t have the answer etched in stone.

Q: What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

A: I work in an academic institution at Johns Hopkins. I really enjoy the direct connection with patients. I’ve switched mostly to a hospital-based practice, which means I’m getting patients at their sickest. It’s really a privilege to provide an opportunity for improvement or support in that context. I also enjoy the teaching and training of the next generation of folks that are going into this field. There’s so much to learn, and I think trying to set that example and teach by doing is a great opportunity, and I really enjoy that as well.

Q: Describe your biggest practice-related challenge and what you’re doing to address it.A: One of my focus areas on the research front is about providing greater transparency and validation around health technologies. How do patients know which health technologies to use? How do doctors know which ones to recommend or advocate for?

Q: Can you give an example of a technology of concern?

A: Looking at oncology and mobile apps, one study I coauthored in 2021 found that well over half did not meet physician or patient expectations. These were the most popular and highest rated apps available at the time. It shows that there’s a real disconnect between what the end users – the doctors and the patients – want from these solutions and what’s actually being provided.

There’s a flood of different solutions that are out there, and there really isn’t a streamlined way to know, as a clinician or as a patient, which ones really make a difference clinically and which ones are going to be helpful for you. And that’s been the focus of my research – understanding ways to evaluate technologies that are not so burdensome as to be purely in the realm of academics, but to be pragmatic.

Q: Who has had the strongest influence on your life?

A: I would say my spouse. She’s an academic physician at Hopkins. One of the things she has shown me is the importance of finding alignment in what you do professionally with the sort of goals that you have or the values that you hold as an individual. That’s why I’ve done some nontraditional things in my academic career. It’s really been in search of finding that alignment that matches my interests and goals, as opposed to just doing something because it’s a popular thing to do.

Lightning Round

Favorite sport: Soccer

What song do you have to sing along with when you hear it? 80s pop music

Introvert or extrovert? Introvert

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Optimist or pessimist? Realist

Dr. Mathews is on LinkedIn . His health tech blog is Digital Differential.

Hepatologist Patricia Denise Jones, MD, recollects the balancing act of going through medical training while caring for her four children.

“I had them at every stage: my first one as a medical student; twins when I was a resident, and my last one at the end of fellowship. It was challenging, trying to put their needs first while trying to be a great doctor, learning how to do research,” said Dr. Jones, an associate professor at the University of Miami Health system.

She has no regrets. “I think I’m a better doctor and colleague because I have children. Showing my kids how important it is to help and serve others is one of the best legacies I can leave them.”

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Q: Describe your current practice. What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

Dr. Jones: Being able to make a difference in the lives of patients. A lot of the patients that I take care of have difficulty navigating the health system. That’s the population I feel most inclined to serve. It’s always rewarding to help someone make a connection that they couldn’t make on their own or help them understand something that wasn’t clear. Knowing that you’re helping someone to live a healthier life is deeply gratifying.



Q: Tell me about your patient population.

Dr. Jones: My focus is patients with liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma specifically, and cirrhosis patients. They tend to be sick relative to most Americans. I also take care of people who have other forms of liver disease like fatty liver and viral hepatitis. I live in Miami, so most of the patients that I take care of are going to be Hispanic. A good percentage are immigrants with limited health literacy.

Q: What is your biggest practice-related challenge? What are you doing to address it?

Dr. Jones: Lack of insurance and underinsurance. One patient of mine with Medicare and Humana has a carve out: She can see me and some of my colleagues but not the oncologist or a radiation oncologist. For her to be seen in our center, she would have to get a referral from a doctor in a different county. This makes no sense. It’s a hard problem to solve. To me, that’s the most challenging thing – not being able to help when something is beyond my control, beyond what I understand, and translating it into action. 

Q: What general principles guide you in your professional and personal life?

Dr. Jones: I try to think of the Golden Rule in every encounter with a person, either in clinic or in real life, as if they were my mother or sister. If I’m frustrated or having a bad day, what would I want that person’s experience to be with their doctor? I also try to assume the best possible intent with people.

Latosha Y. Flowers, MD

Q: What teacher, mentor, or other influences had the greatest impact on you?

Dr. Jones: My father. He started out as a salesman, worked in legislation, and then retired early to focus on and build up our community, making sure that we were better off than we were before. In terms of my professional life, Robert Sandler, MD is one of my greatest mentors. He is at the University of North Carolina and was the division chief of gastroenterology. He saw potential in me and supports me to this day. If you need something, he’s there. If you need him to comment on your draft, he’s very reliable and gives you great, critical feedback.
 

Q: In 10 years, what do you hope you are doing or what do you hope you have accomplished?

Dr. Jones: In 10 years, I hope that my efforts will have revolutionized our approach to delivering care to vulnerable populations. Much of the work that has been done thus far in the field of disparities and liver disease has focused on describing the inequities. However, I have just started working in health equity. This will require partnering with patients and caregivers to get a better understanding of their needs and collaborating with legislators to increase funding directed towards building the infrastructure necessary to deliver health care to those who have been forgotten.

Lightning round questions

Favorite movie, show, or book
Forrest Gump, Blackish, anything by Toni Morrison

Favorite music genre
Hip Hop

Favorite food
Seafood

Favorite travel destination
Tanzania

Your ideal type of pet
Dog

Optimist or pessimist?
Optimist!

Dr. Jones is on Twitter @DrLiverPatty.

Hepatologist Patricia Denise Jones, MD, recollects the balancing act of going through medical training while caring for her four children.

“I had them at every stage: my first one as a medical student; twins when I was a resident, and my last one at the end of fellowship. It was challenging, trying to put their needs first while trying to be a great doctor, learning how to do research,” said Dr. Jones, an associate professor at the University of Miami Health system.

She has no regrets. “I think I’m a better doctor and colleague because I have children. Showing my kids how important it is to help and serve others is one of the best legacies I can leave them.”

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Q: Describe your current practice. What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

Dr. Jones: Being able to make a difference in the lives of patients. A lot of the patients that I take care of have difficulty navigating the health system. That’s the population I feel most inclined to serve. It’s always rewarding to help someone make a connection that they couldn’t make on their own or help them understand something that wasn’t clear. Knowing that you’re helping someone to live a healthier life is deeply gratifying.



Q: Tell me about your patient population.

Dr. Jones: My focus is patients with liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma specifically, and cirrhosis patients. They tend to be sick relative to most Americans. I also take care of people who have other forms of liver disease like fatty liver and viral hepatitis. I live in Miami, so most of the patients that I take care of are going to be Hispanic. A good percentage are immigrants with limited health literacy.

Q: What is your biggest practice-related challenge? What are you doing to address it?

Dr. Jones: Lack of insurance and underinsurance. One patient of mine with Medicare and Humana has a carve out: She can see me and some of my colleagues but not the oncologist or a radiation oncologist. For her to be seen in our center, she would have to get a referral from a doctor in a different county. This makes no sense. It’s a hard problem to solve. To me, that’s the most challenging thing – not being able to help when something is beyond my control, beyond what I understand, and translating it into action. 

Q: What general principles guide you in your professional and personal life?

Dr. Jones: I try to think of the Golden Rule in every encounter with a person, either in clinic or in real life, as if they were my mother or sister. If I’m frustrated or having a bad day, what would I want that person’s experience to be with their doctor? I also try to assume the best possible intent with people.

Latosha Y. Flowers, MD

Q: What teacher, mentor, or other influences had the greatest impact on you?

Dr. Jones: My father. He started out as a salesman, worked in legislation, and then retired early to focus on and build up our community, making sure that we were better off than we were before. In terms of my professional life, Robert Sandler, MD is one of my greatest mentors. He is at the University of North Carolina and was the division chief of gastroenterology. He saw potential in me and supports me to this day. If you need something, he’s there. If you need him to comment on your draft, he’s very reliable and gives you great, critical feedback.
 

Q: In 10 years, what do you hope you are doing or what do you hope you have accomplished?

Dr. Jones: In 10 years, I hope that my efforts will have revolutionized our approach to delivering care to vulnerable populations. Much of the work that has been done thus far in the field of disparities and liver disease has focused on describing the inequities. However, I have just started working in health equity. This will require partnering with patients and caregivers to get a better understanding of their needs and collaborating with legislators to increase funding directed towards building the infrastructure necessary to deliver health care to those who have been forgotten.

Lightning round questions

Favorite movie, show, or book
Forrest Gump, Blackish, anything by Toni Morrison

Favorite music genre
Hip Hop

Favorite food
Seafood

Favorite travel destination
Tanzania

Your ideal type of pet
Dog

Optimist or pessimist?
Optimist!

Dr. Jones is on Twitter @DrLiverPatty.

Hepatologist Patricia Denise Jones, MD, recollects the balancing act of going through medical training while caring for her four children.

“I had them at every stage: my first one as a medical student; twins when I was a resident, and my last one at the end of fellowship. It was challenging, trying to put their needs first while trying to be a great doctor, learning how to do research,” said Dr. Jones, an associate professor at the University of Miami Health system.

She has no regrets. “I think I’m a better doctor and colleague because I have children. Showing my kids how important it is to help and serve others is one of the best legacies I can leave them.”

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Q: Describe your current practice. What gives you the most joy in your day-to-day practice?

Dr. Jones: Being able to make a difference in the lives of patients. A lot of the patients that I take care of have difficulty navigating the health system. That’s the population I feel most inclined to serve. It’s always rewarding to help someone make a connection that they couldn’t make on their own or help them understand something that wasn’t clear. Knowing that you’re helping someone to live a healthier life is deeply gratifying.



Q: Tell me about your patient population.

Dr. Jones: My focus is patients with liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma specifically, and cirrhosis patients. They tend to be sick relative to most Americans. I also take care of people who have other forms of liver disease like fatty liver and viral hepatitis. I live in Miami, so most of the patients that I take care of are going to be Hispanic. A good percentage are immigrants with limited health literacy.

Q: What is your biggest practice-related challenge? What are you doing to address it?

Dr. Jones: Lack of insurance and underinsurance. One patient of mine with Medicare and Humana has a carve out: She can see me and some of my colleagues but not the oncologist or a radiation oncologist. For her to be seen in our center, she would have to get a referral from a doctor in a different county. This makes no sense. It’s a hard problem to solve. To me, that’s the most challenging thing – not being able to help when something is beyond my control, beyond what I understand, and translating it into action. 

Q: What general principles guide you in your professional and personal life?

Dr. Jones: I try to think of the Golden Rule in every encounter with a person, either in clinic or in real life, as if they were my mother or sister. If I’m frustrated or having a bad day, what would I want that person’s experience to be with their doctor? I also try to assume the best possible intent with people.

Latosha Y. Flowers, MD

Q: What teacher, mentor, or other influences had the greatest impact on you?

Dr. Jones: My father. He started out as a salesman, worked in legislation, and then retired early to focus on and build up our community, making sure that we were better off than we were before. In terms of my professional life, Robert Sandler, MD is one of my greatest mentors. He is at the University of North Carolina and was the division chief of gastroenterology. He saw potential in me and supports me to this day. If you need something, he’s there. If you need him to comment on your draft, he’s very reliable and gives you great, critical feedback.
 

Q: In 10 years, what do you hope you are doing or what do you hope you have accomplished?

Dr. Jones: In 10 years, I hope that my efforts will have revolutionized our approach to delivering care to vulnerable populations. Much of the work that has been done thus far in the field of disparities and liver disease has focused on describing the inequities. However, I have just started working in health equity. This will require partnering with patients and caregivers to get a better understanding of their needs and collaborating with legislators to increase funding directed towards building the infrastructure necessary to deliver health care to those who have been forgotten.

Lightning round questions

Favorite movie, show, or book
Forrest Gump, Blackish, anything by Toni Morrison

Favorite music genre
Hip Hop

Favorite food
Seafood

Favorite travel destination
Tanzania

Your ideal type of pet
Dog

Optimist or pessimist?
Optimist!

Dr. Jones is on Twitter @DrLiverPatty.