Benefits of working in a family medicine practice

I grew up in St. Petersburg as the eldest of eight children. My siblings and I all attended St. Petersburg Catholic High School. We all still live in the area and get together often. Twenty years ago, I married my incredible wife Jennifer and we have six boys, aged 13 to 22. I feel so fortunate to be able to care for people within the same community in which I was raised.

Being a doctor in family medical practice has allowed me to connect with and remain grounded to the city and people that I love. A strong faith and family upbringing of care for others is what drew me to family practice.

After completing my Family Practice Residency at USF affiliated Bayfront Medical Center, I decided to volunteer monthly at St. Petersburg Free Clinic and have done so for over 40 years. Many of my patients at my family clinic I have known for decades. I feel very fortunate to have developed so many long-term relationships with my patients and their families. It gives me the opportunity to really understand them and their needs.

I take my role as their primary doctor very seriously and therefore I want to go above and beyond for my patients. This starts by knowing as much as I can about how to best help them. I am one of the few doctors in the United States to have passed the Boards in four specialties – Family Medicine, Sports Medicine, Geriatrics and Adolescent Medicine. While Florida only requires 20 continuing education credit hours annually, I am one of the few to have over 400 hours every year since 1980. For enjoyment and to stay up to date on the latest research and research articles trends, I attend multiple weekly lectures, read journals, and listen to podcasts. I have even had multiple of my own research articles published in national journals.

It is also important for me to be accessible to my patients. They can reach me anytime they need to through my answering service that wires to my cell phone 24 hours a day. Two nights a week I work in the office until 11:00pm calling patients with test results and doing paperwork.

Becoming a family doctor is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am very grateful for the chance to know my patient, set long-term health goals and be able to deliver positive, tangible results to people who choose to trust me for their care.