Her Story
About Ann
I have been practicing medicine for over 30 years, since 1994. I knew I wanted to be a doctor even as a kid. I specialize in psychiatry and psychopharmacology, though it's not a well-respected field. Many mentors told me I'm very good at pharmacology and science, and that's what I chose to pursue. My career began in research during the 1990s when I had a fellowship at NIMH in Bethesda, Maryland, where I wrote papers that were published in journals. I served as Director of Bipolar Disorder at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, one of my key interests. I was also recruited to work as a clinical research physician at Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, but I realized I liked seeing patients rather than doing that type of clinical work. I was then recruited to Brown University where I served as Director of Psychopharmacology. Shortly after arriving at Brown, my mother became ill with Parkinson's and dementia, so I came home from Rhode Island and took care of her for almost 20 years. During that time, I started a private practice, where I have been for at least 20 years. Today, I see a lot of patients and make a lot of calls to families because someone in their family is ill that I'm seeing. At work, my focus is getting people back to feeling their old self, normal, functional, and happy. A lot of them come in and they're not, so that's very gratifying, and I manage to get most of them better. I belong to different organizations which I do at night, like the Connecticut Medical Association, the Fairfield County Medical Association, and the Alzheimer's Association. I have a pretty big practice right now and unfortunately can't accept new patients, though in time I will be able to.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ann
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think I was lucky enough to be born with a good brain, and I've worked hard. That came from my family, mostly my father. He wanted me to work for his company, which was an oil company he owned, and he wanted me to be a chemist. I started grad school to get a PhD, but I decided I didn't want it, I wanted to be a doctor. So I took the MCATs and did well on the MCATs, filled out the applications, and got into Tufts early decision.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I've gotten so much advice from different mentors. I think it was what I should do. I wanted to go into psychiatry, which is not a well-respected field, but many mentors said I'm very good at pharmacology and science, and I should do that, and that's what I chose.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's not very fun to say, but even in this day and age, women aren't treated as well, they're not respected as much, although it's getting better. They don't make the same amount of money that men make, so women have to learn to be assertive. They need to be the best doctor they can be, but also be assertive, because they can be very good but they don't get the recognition sometimes. We're the lowest paid specialty in medicine.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think it's the new rules and regulations. It just wasn't that way back when I started. There are now so many rules, regulations, can't prescribe out of state, have to get so many different licenses. It's just become overwhelming, and medicine has become, to some degree, a business. So that's something that is unfortunate.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
At work, it's getting people back to feeling their old self, normal, functional, happy. A lot of them come in and they're not, so that's very gratifying, and I manage to get most of them better. In my personal life, it is connecting with other people and my spirituality. That's pretty much my thing. Connection is important to me.
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