Kali Williams Barley, MS, RD, LDN, CDCES

From a young age, I had always been a very curious person and expressed a strong interest in learning how things worked. After being exposed to and developing an interest in biology, the combination of my interests led me to medicine. It is that general curiosity and my broad interests that led me to family medicine. While I had started off residency with an internship in OBGYN, I found that there were so many more aspects of medicine that I wanted to continue to explore. Additionally, I found that one of my most important motivating factors was my desire to help provide accurate and well-informed guidance regarding the general healthcare of my family and friends. This is the same care that I am determined to provide to my patients. My approach to patient care is much like my approach to life—take a big problem and break it down into smaller problems. Like most things, managing health is about consistency and dedication. It is less about what happens in the minutes that I spend with my patients and more about the hours, days, and weeks in between. My job is to provide the roadmap and point out the potholes, but at the end of the day they’ve got their foot on the gas and their hands on the wheel. When I am not at work, I love learning and playing sports including basketball, rock-wall climbing and snowboarding when I find myself in the right climate for it. I am always up for a board game night and love an interesting strategy game.

I chose to become a doctor to make a difference in people's lives through comfort and healing, to stand by them through challenges and adversity, and to serve communities that need care. I believe in a multidisciplinary and team based approach to medicine, with the goal of providing comprehensive, high-quality and evidence based urologic care for my patients. Urologic patients often represent a vulnerable population with a wide spectrum of complex medical issues. Patient education and compassionate care delivered in the context of a patient’s overall health and goals is therefore paramount. I believe in using the most advanced and novel techniques to address some of the most challenging patient conditions. I consider being a surgeon a privilege, and will always advocate for my patients and ensure that they are an active member of the healthcare team. When I am not at work, I enjoy exercising, weight training, hiking, sports, traveling and spending time with my family and friends.

I went into medicine because it gives me the opportunity to help people directly in very important ways. I love Family Medicine because I get to know patients well over time. I believe the most important thing in medicine is to listen closely to the patient, observe carefully and care deeply about finding the right solution. Outside of work, I enjoy walking, reading, cooking, and spending time with my husband and three teenage daughters.