Dr. Awesome

November 10, 2009 4:05 PM

Do you know an amazing primary care physician in NYC? What makes them amazing? Do you think they'd be interested in mentoring a student?

Greetings MeFites!

I'm hoping you could let me know about the particularly great primary care physicians you have known and loved in NYC. Maybe it's your physician. Maybe you have a friend or colleague who you respect and admire. Maybe they would like to mentor an eager student....

I'm a first year medical student seeking a primary care mentor to shadow in the spring, and I'm hoping you can help me find some doctors who may be interested. But even if you don't know someone who would be interested in mentoring a student, I'd like to know what makes a doctor outstanding for you.

For me, a great doctor is compassionate and goes the extra mile for their patients. I can tell you that one of my favorite physicians always took the time to explain how she came to a diagnosis, why she chose a particular drug, and when she saw that I was curious about my condition, gave me primary literature related to my illness. That was a really nice touch.

In terms of mentors, I would like to find someone compassionate who cares for interesting and diverse patients. Originally I wrote out a list of qualities I'd like to see, but on reflection I'm much more interested in hearing what makes a doctor great for you.

Also, someone on MeFi mentioned a "Rock Doc" in the East Village who works on a sliding scale with a great many uninsured artists and musicians who sounded like a mench, but I'm having trouble finding the post right now.

And if you recently heard someone say "Goodness! If only I had an opportunity to pass on my knowledge and wisdom, compassion for patients and general awesomeness to a medical student!" well then you know who to call.

posted by abirae to health & fitness (8 comments total)

Dr. Greg Pitaro at the Murray Hill Medical Group. He's definitely the "go the extra mile" type. I've been seeing him for years. I don't know if he's willing or able to be a mentor, but a phone call could sort that out.
posted by blaneyphoto at 4:21 PM on November 10

Dr. Hammer at Grammercy Park Physicians always sat down with me across a desk in his office (while I was still clothed) to discuss what brought me to his office before having me strip down and reducing the problem to blood pressure and height/weight. It ALWAYS made me feel more like a person than a statistic, and it ALWAYS made me trust him more.
posted by bunnycup at 4:44 PM on November 10

I don't live in NYC, but I can tell you two things that make me love my doctors: first, when they don't make me feel like they are rushed. I don't know how this works, but my primary care doc always seemed to have enough time with me, even though I'm sure there were other people waiting. The other is when one of my doctors gave me his cell phone number when we were trying to get a level of medication right. He said "call me on Saturday morning after you've taken this medicine for a day so we can see how you feel." It made me feel incredibly well cared for. He didn't have to do that, but he knew I was distressed about it. (I think he also realized I wasn't the kind of patient who was going to abuse the number).
posted by dpx.mfx at 5:26 PM on November 10

Must be something in the water at Murray Hill Medical Group, because I see Dr. Joseph Devito there and I think he's fantastic. Super-thorough, concerned with overall well-being, and completely non-judgmental.
posted by lalex at 6:26 PM on November 10

Yep, I highly recomment Amy Bleyer at MHMG as well!
posted by chelseagirl at 6:48 PM on November 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

Good office staff can make or break a good practice. Make sure to ask about how they pick their billers, receptionists, etc. The business side of things, yes, but also a huge amount of your patient's experience.

I really like my doctor, he's kind and thorough and really into stress management. Non-judgmental.

But I am considering leaving his care because his office staff is giving me huge problems with billing and they're being jerks about it. Like, they owe me $400. It makes me very stressed out about calling, going to him, etc.

On the opposite of that, I had a doctor in my old neighborhood who had the best office staff ever--just one woman who always remembered me and was very warm and kind. Approachable. A pleasure to make an appointment with her. She always made sure everyone in the reception area was comfortable, turned up the heat when some of the older patients asked her, stuff like that.
posted by kathrineg at 7:31 AM on November 11

Dr. Neil Calman at the Institute for Family Health in Union Square (16 E 16th St) runs an excellent family practice organization. He's pretty busy but a good guy. The other doc there who I would really recommend is Red Schiller, I think his real name is Robert. You can read more about each of them here:
http://institute2000.org/org/leaders/neil%20calman.html
http://institute2000.org/org/leaders/robert%20schiller.html

They are both pretty cool, just send them an email.
posted by blue_bicycle at 6:21 PM on November 11

Dr. Tammy Leopold (she's got her own practice). She's utterly amazing. I have told people that if I ever got offered thousands of dollars to leave New York, I wouldn't do it, because I'd have to leave Dr. Leopold. She is wonderful for many different things (including mentoring my former roommate who's now a first year med student in California), but mostly for the fact that she always gives every patient all the time they need. She also pays attention to everything you say, and asks LOTS of questions. MeMail me if you want her contact info.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:36 PM on November 12