Photo by Madison Kirkman Deborah Wilson

GYNECOLOGIST

Name of medical school:
George Washington University School of Medicine

Years in practice:
25 

Who is your personal health care hero?
[Nobel Peace Prize winner] Dr. Albert Schweitzer

“I decided to become a doctor when...”
I volunteered at the Goleta Valley Hospital in California when I was 12 years old. I loved the obstetrics and wanted to deliver
babies and care for women.

What made you choose gynecology in particular?
Originally I chose obstetrics and gynecology because I loved delivering babies, but I became gradually more and more fascinated with surgery as I aged. I love the “art” of laparoscopic surgery. It requires a strong intuition and sense of the tissue – something that is difficult to teach and just has to come from within.

“If I weren’t a doctor, I’d be...”
A veterinarian.

“When I’m not working, I like to...”
I run an animal rescue. I have 30 acres in Prescott Valley. We rescue dogs, horses, goats, cows and chickens and care for them on the ranch. We also have an active foster-based rescue operation in the Valley. We recently rescued an abused Min-Pin named Andre who has received quite a bit of press and an outpouring of sympathy.

Name a personal habit, vice or activity of YOURS that you would advise yourself NOT to do if you were your own doctor.
I don’t have any real vices. I am a vegan, I practice yoga and I don’t smoke.

What’s the best thing you ever did for your own health?
Becoming a vegan and going through yoga teachers’ training 10 years ago. I was raised a vegetarian, but the transition to a plant-based diet has been great for my health. My cholesterol level is rock-bottom and I feel great.

If you could change one thing about the U.S. health care system, what would it be?
I would recommend that we concentrate on the relationship between diet, exercise and health. I think it is crazy that we prescribe statins for high cholesterol when a plant-based diet, which eliminates cholesterol intake, would solve most cholesterol problems.

What’s the most common misconception about gynecology?
That we care more about delivering babies than we do about menopausal issues. Many of us no longer deliver babies and have directed our practice toward the concerns of older women.