APPOINTED 2016 | CHILD & ADOLESCENT/ GENERAL PSYCHIATRY | BOARD MEMBER| GREENVILLE, NC

Q: What do you wish other medical professionals understood about the Medical Board?

A: Board Members are their colleagues, their neighbors and their partners in navigating the ever-changing landscape of medical regulation and healthcare reform. A great example of this is the free opioid CME developed by NCMB and Wake AHEC. These trainings help our licensees meet the new requirements for controlled substances prescribers, which NCMB adopted at the direction of the executive branch. I also wish more licensees understood that NCMB truly is a resource for them. You see this in our increased level of activity on Twitter, and in the information we publish in the Forum newsletter. We are always offering information to help providers be successful and stay on top of all the changes.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about serving on the Board?

A: The opportunity to serve the people of my home state and to be part of the system that ensures all physicians and APPs receive unbiased due process from this regulatory board. More important to my heart is the ability to be part of protecting the people of North Carolina.

Q: What has surprised you about serving on the Board?

A: NCMB is so much more than the Board Members. When I first joined the Board I was surprised by the efficiency and the lean manner in which the limited staff work to fulfill the mission for the people of NC. I also hadn’t realized that NCMB is nationally recognized for its progressive and innovative strategies to help physicians and communities.

Q: What is the best lesson you’ve learned from your personal or professional life?

A: That life is a cycle of good moments and bad moments. The skills you learn during the good moments help you survive the bad ones. Making it through the bad moments makes the good times sweeter and a real reason to live in gratitude.

Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in the medical profession?

A: I’d give them the same advice my personal hero – my Dad, who practiced medicine for 50 years – gave me, which is, “Do what makes you happy and everything else will work out.” He was right, and I believe this is still good advice for anyone looking for his or her professional path.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about practicing medicine?

A: I genuinely love caring for patients of all ages. I tell my patients that my goal each working day is to provide them with the same quality and standard of care I would want my family to receive. I love the children in my practice – they are our futures. I also love my adult patients, who teach me every day to be a better doctor.