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Delia Chiaramonte, M.D.

You might be wondering why I left 'regular' practice to pursue a career as a Private Medical Care Advisor. Several circumstances converged to lead me down this exciting and satisfying path and I would like to share them with you.

Despite the many joys of medical practice, the standard model of seeing a patient every 15 minutes left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied. I often felt that my patients wanted more from me than I was providing, and I wished that I could give it to them -- more time, more guidance, more personalized attention. Even when I stretched my office visits to 20 or even 30 minutes, I found that some people still didn't get from me all that they needed. Perhaps they had hoped to discuss the pile of internet printouts in their bag. Perhaps they were deciding between two risky procedures and wanted to discuss their options at length. Or maybe they just wanted a knowledgeable and supportive guide by their side as they confronted the physical and emotional challenges of illness. I did the best that I could given the practical constraints of medical practice but I always knew that, given the right circumstances, I could do better.

As I was trying to reconcile my view of myself as a healer with the realities of medical practice, I was confronted by two challenges of my own. One of my daughters developed significant health problems and my closest childhood friend got breast cancer. As I advocated for my daughter and my friend, I was tremendously grateful for my medical experience and expertise. I searched the medical literature, consulted with my colleagues, and spoke up when I wasn't satisfied with the treatment plan. I found it frightening to consider how different their treatment might have been had I not been a physician. I wondered how people manage to navigate the complexities of illness and medical care without a physician friend or relative to watch out for them.

Despite the angst involved in helping my loved ones through their illnesses, I found that I actually enjoyed the process. I loved scouring the medical literature for the newest advances and using this knowledge to help facilitate good medical decisions. I loved having the time to talk for as long as my 'patient' needed me without worrying that other patients were being kept waiting. I began to see a sharp difference between the level of care that I offered to my loved ones and that available to my patients; it just didn't seem right.

It got me thinking.

I want to offer all of my compassion, research and problem solving skills to all of my patients. Now I can. I want my patients to decide for themselves how much time to spend with me, and to feel empowered by our visits. I want the time to address the physical, emotional and even spiritual aspects of illness and I want my patients to feel heard. I want to help doctors and patients communicate, and I want to walk beside those who feel overwhelmed, alone and afraid. As a Private Medical Care Advisor I can do all this and more.

I am finally free to be the healer that I imagined as a young and idealistic medical student. What a lucky person I am.

Delia Chiaramonte, M.D. CV

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