Biographical
Sketch I
graduated from Point Loma Nazarene College (now University)
in San Diego in 1990 with a B.A. in biology. I attended
Ross University School of Medicine and graduated in 1996.
I did my Family Practice residency at University Medical
Center here in Fresno and was chief resident in my final
year. I am board-certified by the American Board of Family
Practice and I am a proud member of the American Academy
of Anti-Aging Medicine. I provide all aspects of family
medicine except one: I do not deliver babies (I like to
sleep sometime!). I am the medical director of Community
Home Palliative Care Program and do a lot of end-of-life
care for individuals who are nearing the end of their lives.
I have been married now for over 16 years and have 3 children
ranging in age from 3 - 15.
Before becoming a physician, I served in the U.S. Army in
military intelligence (yes, I know the joke) as a Soviet
military analyst and Russian linguist and I was trained
in the Russian language at Defense Language Institute, Foreign
Language Center in Presidio of Monterey, California. I served
at a strategic listening post in Augsburg, (West) Germany,
for three years until I was honorably discharged in 1983.
My hobbies include reading philosophical and theological
studies, exercising and spending time with my beloved wife
and children. I met my Japanese wife in San Diego where
she was attending an English conversational language school.
My philosophy about medicine is that being a board-certified
Family Practitioner, it allows me the freedom to perform
many different procedures and I was trained in managing
many different chronic illnesses. My policy is that I will
refer you to a specialist when I feel that your condition
is reaching the limits of my knowledge base.
I believe that the best way to get the most out of our relationship
is to work as a team. I do not believe in the "paternalistic"
model of medicine in which you, the patient, did everything
the doctor told you to do without question. You are paying
me for my knowledge, skill, and expertise in practicing
medicine but ultimately it is YOUR decision as to what to
do. I also believe in simple honesty in our relationship.
I will always try to be tactful but if I must make a point
that is important and I want to be sure that I am not misunderstood,
I will be blunt (at least politely blunt).
However, there is one aspect that I will place all of the
responsibility upon YOU. If you leave my office confused
and not understanding what I explained to you, you did not
do the right thing. I demand that you stop me ANYTIME that
you do not understand something that I have said so that
I may explain it to you further or in different terms. If
you do not understand what is wrong with your body, how
can you be expected to participate fully in your care?
Finally,
there are times when I may be running late seeing you for
your scheduled appointment. I will apologize in advance;
however, I spend whatever time is necessary with my patients
and sometimes that is quick and other times it is longer
than what was scheduled. I know that this may be frustrating
to you, but imagine you are the patient that I need to spend
extra time with, e.g., a new diagnosis of diabetes or cancer,
or you have multiple questions about your complex medical
condition. Would you want me to rush you out of my office
because you were "over" the 15 minutes of scheduled
time? So please be understanding. If you feel that you cannot
wait, then I would ask that you not begin treatment here
and seek care elsewhere…it would be very frustrating
for you as well as frustrating for us. We will always try
and make sure that your visit is well worth the wait.
