We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Gary Levin, MD. Dr. Levin is an Ophthalmologist in Southern California.

How did you choose to specialize in ophthalmology? My first experience with eyes was a NSF research grant in which I had the opportunity to work with bovine eyes to analyze eye lens DNA and RNA. In medical school I became interested in eye surgery while working with an ophthalmologist on an elective during internship. I liked the lifestyle that ophthalmology provided, allowing me to balance family with work more than in other specialties.

How do you spend time off? Homeschooling and creative endeavors with my children. I spend some time mentoring younger physicians and I am also reestablishing social contact with my medical school and college alumni. I'm also interested in politics and as I have been a lifelong friend with Senator Joseph Lieberman I have campaigned for him in each Presidential and Vice Presidential campaign.

You list hiking as a hobby - what do you like most about it? Almost anywhere I am, I am able to hike. It's outdoors, excellent exercise and helps me to maintain my weight and stay in shape without the risk of injury from jogging. It's a routine I will be able to maintain indefinitely. It's a social activity as well, giving me time to think and talk with my exercise partner.

We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Deborah Benzil, MD. Dr. Benzil is a Neurosurgeon in Westchester.

How did you get into Neurosurgery? I stumbled into neurosurgery more than anything else. In medical school, my neurology rotation was "over-subscribed" so they asked for volunteers to do neurosurgery instead. I volunteered thinking it would just be three weeks and I would never get a chance to see neurosurgery again...well that was 25 years ago and I am still doing it every day!

What do you do with your time off? My time off is devoted to my family (I have a college freshman and a high school senior), reading, travel, cooking/wine and hiking. Every weekend my husband, dog and I take some lovely 3-10 mile hike in the Hudson Valley. In the summer, I also have an extensive vegetable and flower garden that requires a bit of time.

Which would you say is your favorite hobby? Favorite hobby...hum, hard to choose between music, reading, travel, wine...Probably travel because it allows for a whole lot of things and also means that I am on vacation! When we travel (always as a family until my daughter left for college) we look to enhance our cooking/wine stuff, and when we return, we keep the travel experience alive by recreating the food, etc.

We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Carolyn McDougald, MD. Dr. McDougald is a family physician who lives in Texas and is currently starting her own clinic just south of Houston.

Growing up, did you plan to be a doctor? I'm not the average doc, I'm a late bloomer - I have always loved medicine and science, but my family was all blue collar who felt women married, had children, and could work, but not have a career. Neither of my parents finished high school, although my mom did go back later and get her GED when I was about 10. I was the oldest and wanted to go to college, but I did not know enough how to make it happen at the time so I worked at various jobs from retail to waitressing, until I stumbled across Law Enforcement. I became a Deputy Sheriff at the ripe old age of 21! I learned a lot in seven years about life and myself before I realized I needed more, so as a 27 year old single mom of a two year boy, I took my retirement money out, quit the Sheriff's Department and started on a long journey. I went to the University of Houston and attended medical school at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Ft Worth, where I also did my residency in Family Medicine at the now demolished Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas. I finished residency in 2001.

So on the theme of not being the average doc, have you done anything out of the ordinary recently? Actually, I initially found your site while I was researching Alaska - I was trying to decide about doing a Locums position there in Nome, Kotzebue or Bethel. I came across the Alaska Docs group at your site and joined up. I just got back from spending an incredible 5 months with my sons in Nome practicing Bush medicine - what a great refresher course on Family Medicine! Actually, I did things there I would never been able to do in the lower-forty eight because we had no choice - you do it or patients do without! I plan on going back next summer.

We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Jeffrey Atkins, MD. Dr. Atkins is a physician who lives in St. Louis, MO and is currently leaving private practice and going into Urgent Care practice.

How do you spend your time off? My time off is spent mostly with my family. I have a daughter and two sons. My daughter is in her senior year at Bryant University. She plays Division I Volleyball and I love to track the team's season, which is fairly easy to do because many of her matches are webcasted either in video or audio. My older son is in his senior year of high school. He plays soccer year round and I try to make all the games I can. We'll travel a couple of times the bonding time spent is terrific. He's in the process of narrowing down universities for us to make visits to. My younger son is five years old and constantly on the go. He loves school, plays soccer and baseball and is nonstop. Between all the children and my wife, I am blessed and happy to spend most of my time with them.

We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Thomas Lansen, MD. Dr. Lansen is a neurosurgeon in New York City.

Why did you become a surgeon? I loved (and still love) to study history as an undergraduate, but I didn't want to teach -- so history as a livelihood didn't seem promising. So, looking around, I became interested in chemistry, then in the biochemistry of the brain. I committed to a residency in Psychiatry at the famous Bellevue-New York University program, in order to pursue studies in Biological Psychiatry. However, I had a great rotation as a senior medical student, in Neurosurgery. When I quickly became bored with clinical Psychiatry, I switched to Neurosurgery. I've never regretted the choice.

Is there a certain topic you are passionate about? I'm a one-trick pony. The reform of medical liability tort is vital to the survival of American medicine. Our ability to attract quality students to medicine, the satisfaction of physicians in their work, and the cost of medical care (while actual verdict awards are not that large a percentage of the health care dollar, the endless tests we all order for our legal protection are a huge percentage), all depend on the resolution of this issue.

We have some really interesting physicians as members of iMedExchange, and since those of you that aren't members don't get to hear from them, we'll continue to profile some of them in our blog. Today I'd like to introduce you to Sheldon Alter, MD. Sheldon is a retired physician who lives in Florida.

How did you get into Occupational Medicine? Actually, I hadn't originally planned on practicing Occupational Medicine. I was practicing Anesthesiology when I developed heart trouble and was told that if I wanted to see my children graduate high school I better get into a less stressful specialty. I was fortunate to land a position as Associate Medical Director for Texas Instruments, essentially taking care of their employees for their second largest division worldwide. I took courses in Occupational Medicine, learned "everything I could", and became very active in the field. I became Board Certified in Preventive and Environmental Medicine in the specialty of Occupational Medicine and became a Fellow in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. I also served as President of the New England Occupational and Environmental Medical Association.

What is one of the things you most enjoyed about Occupational Medicine? Besides the medical care, I loved the challenges of ergonomics and instituted a number of programs, some rather innovative, for our employees. Texas Instruments was most cooperative in allowing me to introduce these programs. Amongst them were work station rotation, exercise breaks during the work time at the work station, hiring an exercise physiologist to define specific programs, high speed cinematography to study ergonomic problems at the work station, and much more. Most of these programs were up and running at TI well before they were highlighted in the media for other companies, mostly located in Japan.

Physicians are facing challenges at every turn…lower reimbursements, higher malpractice insurance rates and an increasingly litigious public just to name a few of the challenges. In his recent USA Today article, Dr. Kevin Pho does a terrific job of describing another major systemic challenge; a lack of primary care physicians.

I am proud of the fact that iMedExchange has been a supporter of Dr. Kevin, as he is commonly known. A prolific blogger, and general conveyer of common sense, he’s an exemplary leader through his writing.

As the iMedExchange online community for physicians evolves, we are privileged to associate with, and hopefully support, the hundreds of thousands of physicians making a difference in their respective community. I welcome you to join the community and share your thoughts and opinions with physician colleagues in a safe and engaging environment.

Today in our 6th physician profile, you will meet iMedExchange Senior Advisor, Dr. Cindy Haines.

Name: Cindy Haines, MD

Specialty: Family Physician

Location: St. Louis, MO

Medical School: St. Louis University School of Medicine

How I chose my specialty: My father, who is also one of my biggest role models, is a family physician and I saw how he was able to positively influence many people’s lives through his life calling. I wanted to emulate that in my own journey.

Practice Environment: I manage a news service for health care professionals called HealthDay-Physician’s Briefing. I also oversee a full-service medical communications and consulting firm. In addition, I am active staff at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, MO and faculty at SLUSOM.

If I wasn’t a physician I would be: Years ago, my answer to this was “teacher”. I now have to say I would go into business. Or maybe I could be Oprah if she gets tired of it. I would also like to host SNL.

Today, in our 5th physician profile, you'll meet iMedExchange advisor Dr. Howard Luks.

Name: Howard Luks, MD

Specialty: Orthopedic Surgeon

Practice: Private Practice & Chief of Arthroscopy at University Orthopedics and Westchester Medical Center

Medical School : New York Medical College in Calhalla, New York

How I chose my specialty: As an athlete, I never finished a varsity season due to injuries – spending ample time with my orthopedic surgeon who peaked my curiosity into the specialty.

Why I joined the iMedExchange Advisor Network: I thoroughly enjoy the politics and business of medicine. iMedExchange is a place where I can express my thoughts and listen to the thoughts of others. It’s also a place where physicians can come together on personal, business or political challenges facing our profession.

If I wasn't a physician, I'd be an: Ocean Biologist

Today, in our 4th physician profile, you'll meet iMedExchange advisor Dr. Elizabeth Bensen.


Name: Elizabeth Bensen, MD

Specialty: Physiatry

Medical School: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Practice: Multi-Specialty group practice in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.

How I chose my specialty: Physiatry combines the idea of orthopedics, sports medicine and neurology with a priority on rehabilitating the patient.

Recently read: The Glass Castle, The Harry Potter series (with my kids) and re-read Into the Wild.

Today, in our 3rd physician profile, you'll meet iMedExchange advisor Dr. Ramona Bates.

Name: Ramona Bates, MD

Location: Little Rock, AR

Medical School: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Residency, etc.: I did a Flexible Internship at Earl K Long Hospital in Baton Rouge, then a general surgery residency at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, WV, and a plastic surgery residency at Boston University Hospital.

Practice environment: It's truly a solo practice. I do everything from seeing patients, doing procedures and running the business, to returning phone calls and making appointments. Fridays are set aside for reading journals, doing small scar revisions in the office and personal errands.

Today, in our 2nd physician profile, you'll meet iMedExchange advisor Dr. Geoff Ankeney.

Name: Geoff Ankeney, MD

Practice: Providence St. Peter Hospital

Location: Olympia, WA

Medical School: Medical School for International Health - Ben Gurion U/Columbia U, located in Beer Sheva, Israel and at Columbia in New York

Favorite 'off' call activities: Writing and surfing

Interesting fact: I recently submitted a medical case to the TLC network show Diagnosis X. My case was accepted and produced, and I participated in the television re-enactment that is currently airing.

If I wasn't a physician I'd be a: Writer, photographer, teacher, or pro-surfer

Mode of transportation to work: Skateboard

As Emma mentioned, I’m going to introduce you to a few of the physicians using iMedExchange, and give you some insight into the more robust profiles we’ll have available soon. Today I’m featuring Dr. Natalie Hodge:

Name: Natalie Hodge, MD

Practice: Personal Pediatrics

Location: St. Louis, MO

Practice Environment: After taking advice from some moms in a 40-patient-a-day practice, I started making house calls three years ago. My practice charges a yearly membership fee, and does not accept insurance. It was actually a challenge to build, but now with a web-based practice platform, it enables physicians to provide excellent care through house calls and an in-home pharmacy that makes it easier on me as a provider. I’m CEO of the organization, which you can learn more about at www.personalpediatrics.com

If I wasn't a physician I'd be a: Movie Star