Kathryn M Shoemaker, MD

Lots of things, like my experience in art and working with people, led me to medicine. I've always been interested in the sciences and the "why" of things, like understanding why the human body works as it does. I come from a long line of teachers, so medicine combines my love of people and teaching with my knowledge from medical school. I see all ages, from unborn to end-of-life care. My particular joy is those first years of life, women's care and family planning. Kids are especially fun. Even a brand-new baby has a distinct personality. Seeing that personality emerge, how they interact with siblings and fit into the family dynamic is exciting. Helping new parents learn to care for this baby is very satisfying. One of a family medicine doctor's most important skills is listening and hearing what's being said. Often, we come from different backgrounds, and my words may not be the same as yours but listening and hearing what's being said lets me help people.

I think a family medicine provider needs to be able to listen to patients. All our patients and even myself, when I'm a patient, were all coming from different backgrounds, and we have different things going on in our lives. And so, it's important to be able to listen to patients, understand where they're coming from and what their goals are. And then from my side of things as a doctor, I want to be able to know how I can help best. I'd also love for patients to know that I also speak Spanish. That's something that's important to me to be able to help the Spanish-speaking population if I can.

I chose to go into family medicine to care for people across the lifespan and treat patients holistically. One of the most important skills a nurse practitioner can have is the ability to listen and understand people with compassion. I want patients to be honest with me, so that I can figure out how to help them in the best way possible.