ABOUT ME
I’m a lot of things, but mostly I’m an internal medicine physician, medical communicator, writer, and mother based in Boston, Massachusetts.
I graduated from medical school over twenty years ago. I survived residency, rejuvenated during fellowship, and then persevered as a busy clinician/ instructor/ researcher at a major academic medical center for thirteen years. I recently shifted into medical communications/ medical affairs at an immuno-oncology biotechnology firm, and every day feels full and fulfilling.
My writing has encompassed my many passions. As a medical resident at Yale/ New Haven Hospital, I participated in the first and second Yale Internal Medicine Writer's Workshops under Abraham Verghese, Richard Seltzer, and Anna Reisman; I then contributed two ‘darkly reflective’ chapters about my training experience to a compilation titled The Real Life of an Internist (Kaplan 2009). For a long time, I wrote about balancing being a mother and a doctor, blogging at the group blog Mothers In Medicine and contributing to the Mothers in Medicine book (Springer 2018). Inspired by my own physical transformation, I became a regular contributor at the Harvard Health Blog covering mostly nutrition, fitness, and self-care; I then became board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine, and co-founded/ co-directed our hospital’s Healthy Lifestyle Program. My diet and lifestyle change guide Healthy Habits for Your Heart (Adams Media/ Simon and Schuster) was published in December 2018. Along the way, I’ve also covered myriad medical, public health, and social issues, always with a sound science-based approach. I’ve written for Scientific American, Doximity OpMed, the New England Journal of Medicine Knowledge+ Blog, Kevin, MD, and more.
Personally, I am half Latina, I speak Spanish and maintain a close relationship with our extended family in Guatemala. I’ve been married to local sports broadcaster Bob Socci since 2008, and we have two school-aged children, as well as two cats, a dog, and a snake.
No Advertisements, No Solicited Reviews
I do not accept advertising and do not feature solicited posts nor product promotion on my blog or website. If I offer an opinion or suggestion for a service or a product, it’s an honest and objective opinion and I don’t get anything for sharing it. Bonus: No annoying ads!
PRESS KIT:
ON CONFIDENTIALITY
To my former patients: I will never write about you, nor your specific case. For example, if I feel compelled to share a particular case, I first think about other similar cases. What are the salient, relevant features? It’s not going to be the specific details, but rather, I focus on themes and lessons learned. If the real patient was an elderly woman with pneumonia, my essay will feature a young woman with pyelonephritis, and so on. Any names, potentially identifying information, physical findings, specific imaging and/or lab results are omitted or altered. I do this to comply with HIPAA regulations, as well as to be nice and ethical. Because, while it is true that I can be held liable if a patient recognizes themselves on these pages, it’s more important to me that I never violate anyone’s trust.
To my family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, kids’ teachers, parents of my kids’ classmates, mailman, etc, etc: I have learned that any writing that directly alludes to a real person in my life had better be positive and complementary. This blog will not be a place for personal vindication.
To my employer: I am perfectly aware (and will make it very clear here now) that you do not review or pre-approve any of my writing. My writing reflects only my own personal opinion and not that of any other entity.
To the guy that tried to run me down as I crossed the road: On these pages, you’re toast. Obnoxious strangers will be subject to all manner of venting. Take heed!