March 2006

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Boston Magazine Top Docs

What makes a good doctor? A degree from a top medical school? A good bedside manner? A major scientific discovery? We all choose our doctors based on different criteria. But what attributes do doctors themselves consider in selecting specialists for their own loved ones?

The February issue of Boston Magazine offers some insight, featuring 100 "Top Doctors" in Boston as selected by their peers. Children's News sat down with the 11 Children's Hospital Boston doctors who made the print edition list to find out what qualities they think make docs tops.

According to Karen Marcus, MD, chief of Radiation Oncology, "competence, medical training and expertise," are some of the key elements of a top doctor, but "compassion is just as important when taking care of patients." In talking about her work with cancer patients, she says, "We can't always cure, but we can always make the time children have better," a philosophy that dictates her practice and motivates her research.

Francisco Bonilla, MD, PhD, director of the Clinical Immunology Program, has a similar opinion on what makes a top doc. "From the doctors point of view, we think good doctors are those who follow new ideas and change the way they treat patients based on new developments." However, he feels patients look for more than just expertise. "They want someone who listens, cares about their situation, engages them emotionally and makes them feel cared for."

According to Sara Forman, MD, director of the Outpatient Eating Disorders Program, "it goes without saying that doctors should be competent, good communicators with patients and with colleagues and be able to work with patients on their own terms." She also feels this recognition is a "victory for the working mother," as she has two children at home and really strives to balance her professional life with her personal life.

Michael Millis, MD, of Orthopedic Surgery, is making his second appearance on the "Top Doctors" list. He feels top docs should be good teachers and good advancers of new techniques and technologies. "I serve as a resource for other doctors, providing counsel and leveraging what I do here at Children's by encouraging other doctors to learn from me."

Besides being a good physician, Michael Young, MD, of the Allergy and Immunology Program, feels that "doctors who go the extra mile to advocate for their patients" are really top. "Doctors who contribute to the community and look at the bigger picture make a difference in medicine."

Wendy Wornham, MD, of Lexington Pediatrics, has a unique perspective as a community-based pediatrician who teaches and attends on patients at Children's. She believes that top doctors "consider the psychological, emotional, social, and physical aspects of illness and healing."

John Emans, MD, director of the Division of Spinal Surgery, is making another of many appearances on the "Top Doctors" list. He feels that "the people you work with and the people you respect are the people you would want to send your loved ones to see." He also believes it's important to treat patients as "individuals" and "with dignity and respect."

Elof Eriksson, MD, PhD, Chief of Plastic Surgery, believes that "compassion works to create better care." "I don't think you can teach compassion like you can teach clinical skills," he adds. "Compassion drives a doctor's ability to help their patients."

According to Mark Gebhardt, MD, of Orthopedic Surgery, a lot of what makes a top doctor is the ability to collaborate with others. "More often than not, at least in my specialty, we work with a number of different disciplines to provide the best possible picture of a condition and thus, the best possible treatment."

Jean Emans, MD, Chief of Adolescent Medicine, also stresses the importance of communication and collaboration. "There's incredible knowledge and expertise here at Children's," she says. "And the collegiality is truly unique. You can email any specialists here, and within an hour, you'll get a response. Having such amazing resources at your fingertips makes top doctors."

Julian Pribaz, MD, director of the Harvard Plastic Surgery Training Program, tells us: "Plastics is a huge specialty. No one is an expert in all aspects; we each have our own domain." As such, he feels that teamwork is vital in making top docs. "Every member of a team is an important cog on the wheel."

ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY

Fransico Bonilla, MD

Raif Geha, MD

Robert Sundel, MD

Dale Umetsu, MD, PhD

Michael Young, MD

ANESTHESIOLOGY

Charles B. Berde, MD, PhD

James A. Di Nardo, MD

Paul R. Hickey, MD

Peter C. Laussen, MBBS

Francis X. McGowan, Jr., MD

Mark A. Rockoff, MD

David L. Wessel, MD

DERMATOLOGY

Stephen E. Gellis, MD

Gary R. Fleisher, MD

FAMILY MEDICINE

Ellen Geminiani, MD

HAND SURGERY

Peter Waters, MD

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Donald A. Goldmann, MD

NEPHROLOGY

William E. Harmon, MD

NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY

Liliana C. Goumnerova, MD

Joseph R. Madsen, MD

Mark R. Proctor, MD

R. Michael Scott, MD

NEUROLOGY

H. Royden Jones, Jr., MD

NEUROLOGY, CHILD

Blaise F. D. Bourgeois, MD

David L. Coulter, MD

Basil T. Darras, MD

Alyssa A. LeBel, MD

Alcy Torres, MD

Joseph J. Volpe, MD

NUCLEAR MEDICINE

S. Ted Treves, MD

OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

Marc Laufer, MD

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Linda R. Dagi, MD

Anne B. Fulton, MD

David G. Hunter, MD, PhD

Lois E. H. Smith, MD, PhD

Deborah K. Vanderveen, MD

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

John Emans, MD

Marc Gebhardt, MD

James R. Kasser, MD

Lyle J. Micheli, MD

Michael Millis, MD

OTOLARYNGOLOGY

Gerald B. Healy, MD

Margaret A. Kenna, MD

Trevor J. McGill, MD

Roger C. Nuss, MD

Dennis S. Poe, MD

Jo Shapiro, MD

Mark Volk, MD, DMD

PATHOLOGY

Sara Forman, MD

Elizabeth Woods, MD, MPH

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - ABUSED CHILDREN

S. Jean Emans, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS

Lisa Albers, MD, MPH

Jo-Ann Bier, MD

Alison Schonwald, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - METABOLIC DISEASES

Harvey L. Levy, MD

Mira Irons, MD

Linda J. Van Marter, MD, MPH

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC AND ADOLESCENT GYNECOLOGY

Marc Laufer, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY

Charles Berul, MD

Roger Breitbart, MD

Frank Cecchin, MD

Steven D. Colan, MD

Michael David Freed, MD

David R. Fulton, MD

Tal Geva, MD

Kathy Jenkins, MD, MPH

Peter Lang, MD

James E. Lock, MD

Gerald R. Marx, MD

Jane W. Newburger, MD

Andrew J. Powell, MD

Ravi R. Thiagarajan, MD

John Triedman, MD

Edward P. Walsh, MD

David L. Wessel, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE

Jeff Burns, MD, MPH

Adrienne Randolph, MD, MSc

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY

Rosalind S. Brown, MD, CM, FRCP(C)

Joseph M. Gertner, MB, MRCP

Joseph A. Majzoub, MD

Norman P. Spack, MD

Joseph I. Wolfsdorf, MB, BCh

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY

Victor Fox, MD

Richard J. Grand, MD

Maureen M. Jonas, MD

Samuel Nurko, MD, MPH

Menno Verhave, MD

John B. Watkins, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - HEMATOLOGY - ONCOLOGY

Lisa R. Diller, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Holcombe Edwin Grier, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Eva Guinan, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Mark W. Kieran, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Leslie Lehmann, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Samuel E. Lux, MD

Ellis Neufeld, MD, PhD

Orah S. Platt, MD

Stephen E. Sallan, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Lewis B. Silverman, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Sandra Kay Burchett, MD, MS

Gary R. Fleisher, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC NEPHROLOGY

William E. Harmon, MD

PEDIATRIC SPECIALIST - PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGY

Fatma Dedeoglu, MD

Robert Sundel, MD

PEDIATRICS

S. Jean Emans, MD

Sara Forman, MD

Judith S. Palfrey, MD

Wendy Wornham, MD

PLASTIC SURGERY

Elof Eriksson, MD, PhD

John B. Mulliken, MD

Julian Pribaz, MD

PSYCHIATRY

David R. DeMaso, MD

Stuart Goldman, MD

RADIATION ONCOLOGY

Robert T. Bramson, MD

Robert Lebowitz, MD

SLEEP MEDICINE

Richard Ferber, MD

SURGERY

Steven Jeffrey Fishman, MD

Tom Jaksic, MD, PhD

Craig Walton Lillehei, MD

Robert Shamberger, MD

THORACIC SURGERY

Pedro Del Nido, MD

John E. Mayer, Jr., MD

UROLOGY

Stuart B. Bauer, MD

Joseph Gerard Borer, MD

Marc Cendron, MD

David A. Diamond, MD

James Mandell, MD

Craig A. Peters, MD

:: Anna Gonski, Editor :: Masthead ::

©2005 Children's Hospital Boston. All rights reserved.

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