Where I came from and how I got here

Where I came from and how I got here (long post)

Where I came from and how I got here

I’ve had a lot of questions about my approach to medicine. In the interest of being straightforward and transparent, I would like to take this opportunity to explain where I came from and how I got here. 

I decided to go to medical school while in college at the tender age of 22. At the time, medicine seemed like a noble pathway to apply my academic prowess and ability to memorize facts and take exams, combined with my desire to make a difference in the world. Looking back, had I known more about the industry, I may have chosen a different path. However, I believe in a sovereign God who chose this path for me (despite my fallibility) to achieve His plans and use me in ways I only dreamed were possible.

Medical School, Training & Residency

Fast forward several years. I entered the machine of medical training, which started with competitive applications and interviews, expensive tuition and living expense loans (one cannot work to support oneself while in medical school) followed by rigorous academic work, exams, and then the “matching” process into a residency program. Medical residency is a grueling government-funded program that turns newly graduated physicians into seasoned doctors in their chosen specialty. I recall learning the “standards of care” and never questioning organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who dared to question were vilified and lost all credibility. My attendings and co-residents would talk about families who didn’t adhere to these recommendations as “noncompliant” or “anti-vaxxers” with disdain. 

Don’t get me wrong – I received very valuable training during my medical school and residency. I learned how to resuscitate infants and children who were literally dying. I acquired skills in life-saving treatments for severe acute and chronic illnesses. I developed an amazing work ethic, teamwork, discipline, and the ability to perform under stressful and sleep-deprived situations (this also served me well as a mother of 3 newborns). I learned about the amazing human body and its intricate beauty in the way it was designed. 

Practicing Medicine & Independent Thinking

I experienced some red flags in my experience, but overall I accepted my training without question and started my practice as a pediatric hospitalist following residency. I began asking questions when I started noticing a certain political bent in the academic medicine world. Medical care for children shouldn’t attract such a homogeneous political view – should it? I started learning more about different biochemical pathways and relationships between the brain and the gut that were largely dismissed by those who had trained me. I started hearing more concerning stories about vaccines that I had been taught were “rare” or “coincidental”. I began to become alarmed by the AAP's support for “gender-affirming” care, which seemed to be the opposite of care. I started to wonder why I had received so little training on nutrition, which seemed to be so formative for my patients’ health. 

Reflecting on the COVID Pandemic

During the COVID pandemic, it became more and more apparent that my beloved medical system was so closely tied to the government that it became impossible to know what information was true versus what was propaganda. For the first time, I refused to follow CDC recommendations and opted out of vaccinating my own children for COVID. Since this time, I have been on an eye-opening journey. I have grown as a physician and as a mother. The more I learn, the more I realize that everything is a delicate balance. There have certainly been valuable advances in medicine, even if they came as a result of profit-first corporations and pharmaceutical companies. Ask anyone who has had a micro premature infant or a child with severe sepsis – they would not be alive if it weren’t for these skillfully developed medical systems. We cannot completely reject Western medicine. I completely understand the sentiment of feeling betrayal, mistrust, and even “duped”. I devoted several years of my life to this profession so I feel it very deeply. 

Moving Forward and Finding a Balance

Rather than burning out or rejecting all my training, I chose to move forward with the balance of understanding that God created an intricate and beautiful design in the human body. It is so intricate that we will never fully understand it on this side of heaven.  However, I also believe as a pediatrician and mother I have been given an opportunity to apply knowledge from multiple sources and use it to help children become as healthy as possible. Medical care for children is not simply applied to their bodies but also to their minds and emotions. Treatment shouldn’t be confined to prescription medication but should include a whole system approach.

Sparrow Pediatrics Approach

I started my practice to have the freedom and time to do this well. In some cases, that approach may include natural or herbal remedies. In some cases, it may include antibiotics. In some cases, it may simply be stepping back and looking at sleep and diet routines. It may include taking a deep dive into gut health and how it is affecting mood and behavior. I promise not to regurgitate “the standards”, but to take a thoughtful approach to your individual child. As a direct primary care physician, I promise to do all I can to help your child be the healthiest version of him or herself.