My Desire Is To
Help People
As a functional medicine physician, I enjoy
getting to know my patients and helping
them heal at a deep level.
About Me
My desire is to help people
It was this desire that took me to Nepal for the Peace Corps, directed me to the path of medicine and sent me to the island of Hispaniola on many medical missions. My favorite part of being an emergency physician was quickly relieving people of acute pain. As an alternative medicine and functional medicine doctor at Vitality Medical Center in Nashville, I enjoy getting to know my patients and helping them heal at a deep level.
My journey
My journey into integrative medicine and alternative medicine treatments began when I started practicing macrobiotics in order to heal myself of kidney and adrenal fatigue. I was chronically tired, rundown and wasn’t sleeping well. Once I started eating a primarily plant-based diet and started to live within the laws of nature, my body became strong and my mind became clearer. I began to value and truly understand how food and proper lifestyle can heal the body.
I believe in finding the root cause
Illness is caused from imbalance brought on by food, thoughts and past trauma. To treat illness we need to address all of these factors and cleanse ourselves of past accumulations. I work with people who want to address the root cause of their illness, not just the symptoms.
I believe in uniqueness
I promote personalized medicine. Unlike conventional medicine, I believe there is not one solution for each illness. We must connect the web of symptoms to find the root of the illness that is unique to each individual. I value spending time with my patients and finding these connections in order to begin the path of true healing.
I believe in teaching
Being an alternative medicine and functional medicine doctor at Vitality Medical Center in Nashville means being a teacher. I show my patients how to nourish themselves, including how to prepare healthy food and live a life that restores and supports their wellness, growth and truest self.
Education
I received my medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. I completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Olive View Medical Center in Los Angeles and a three- year Emergency Medicine residency at the UCLA-affiliated Kern Medical Center. After residency I became board certified in Emergency Medicine and practiced for Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles.
My integrative and nutritional studies began with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where I studied over 100 dietary theories and learned cutting edge, scientifically based data to support recovery, using food as a means. That course led me to the Institute for Functional Medicine where I learned how to apply functional medicine principles to my clinical practice. I also extensively studied macrobiotic theory at the Kushi Institute, Center for Natural Healing and through the Macrobiotics America–Macrobiotics Global Counselor training course. I practice supplemental modes of healing including sound therapy, moxibustion, chakra balancing and shiatsu massage.
Volunteer Experience
Between my undergraduate studies and medical school, I joined the Peace Corps and taught English and math to secondary students in a rural village in Nepal. Since becoming a medical doctor, I have volunteered extensively in the Dominican Republic and Haiti treating common medical conditions and educating physicians and local residents. In Haiti I worked with the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Foundation through their rural birthing facility, Maison de Naissance. I performed home visits to treat disease and malnutrition in infants and children and participated in a water purification and education program. FolIowing the 2010 earthquake, I joined an emergency medical mission to treat Haiti’s cholera victims.
Licenses and Certifications
Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (12/2015-Present)
Medical Board of California (3/2007-Present)
Board Certified Emergency Physician (10/2009-Present)
Memberships
Institute for Functional Medicine (2014-Present)
Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (2014-Present)
Wellness Committee, Kaiser Permanente (2014-2015)
Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society (2004-Present)
