Kathy I. Perez M.D., MBA, LSSGB

I attribute my success to my dedication, my passion, and the way I was raised. It all comes down to my dad. When I was going to medical school as a teenager, he moved us from the United States to the Dominican Republic, a third world country. It was a huge change for three girls, but he told us to look around and realize we weren't any different than the people there, we just had better opportunities. He made me feel like there was so much I had to do for other people and humanity in general that I should not waste any time. That was very inspiring to me. When I saw all the need in the hospitals there, people with nothing, not even bed sheets, and I was volunteering at age [AGE] being called Dr. Perez, something shifted in me. When you're that young and you carry the weight of life in your hands, you never come back from it. I became someone that is extremely responsible, and I've dedicated my whole entire life to other people.

The best piece of advice I've ever received is that no one is going to help me. Once I learned that, it was an eye-opener. When you have a lot of compassion and kindness in your heart, you think it's natural that other people will match you and help you if you need it, but that's not the case. In this world, everybody's looking for their own thing, and they're not going to help you. Actually, it's quite the opposite. If they can get rid of you, they will. It's just a matter of your resilience and really knowing what you want and going for it. Once you achieve what you really want, you value it and you grow it with a lot of love and dedication. If you have a dream, there are going to be many steps to get there, and it's not going to be easy. If it's easy, then it's not going to be good for you because you won't be able to sustain it. You need to do things the long way. The long way is a good way because you learn, and then you achieve it, and you owe no one.

Be the best version of yourself, and never stop. Go for what you want and compete with men. Compete with them, because you can sit in very important rooms. I have done it. Right now, I'm working with Big Pharma and I sit in rooms with all of their CEOs. How did I get myself into that room? Because I offered myself to those persons. I offered my services. When I had an opportunity and I had them in front of me, I was not quiet. I was not silent. No. You have to fight your way sometimes, and you need to bring everything that you have. You have to tell people what you are capable of doing. Even though there's something you're not an expert at, just take the job, take the responsibility, and shine. Work harder than everybody else. Let people know who you are. You cannot be quiet. If you have passion, dedication, and hard work, and you know what you want, don't give up. Use all of that energy and push yourself and help yourself into the spaces where your voice is meant to be heard. Put yourself in those rooms. If no one else is putting you there, nobody is going to help you. No one. You're supposed to help yourself. Once women understand that, let go of the fear and just present things. Do it in a very elegant way, in a very professional way, in ways that are delicate yet very aggressive, because it shows you're capable, you want it, and you're the best at it. I always present myself as the best in my field. And if I'm not the best in my field, put me head to head with the one that you think is, because we have so much to learn from each other. You have to put yourself in rooms and you have to let your voice be heard, and that only happens if you help yourself. Nobody's gonna help you.

The biggest challenges are male dominance and our healthcare system, which has a lot to do with our government. It's a very serious issue because it's an issue of access. I know which treatment works for a patient in a serious condition that we can wipe off in a couple of months, but our government makes me go through insurance companies and tells me how to practice medicine. They demand that I accept medications that are approved by that insurance because they have contracts to use certain drugs. They take my patients through different tiers and make me try and fail medications first. That's just not how it should be. I know the answer and I have the drug that's going to take away a serious condition from your life, such as lupus, vasculitis, or scleroderma, which are very serious conditions that can kill you. They're terminal diseases. But they make me start with steroids and other medications that are just masking an illness while your disease continues to progress, instead of me just telling you what you need. I'm at the mercy of the healthcare system, and the healthcare system is at the mercy of the government, and the government is at the mercy of which insurances they are going to do business with. It's disgusting, in all honesty. People die because of this. Young people. Most of our patients are seriously complicated, and it's all because of insurance. I have the armamentarium but I can't use it.

Work-life balance and family are the most important values to me, though I'll admit that was never one of my pillars early on. As a physician from my class, physicians from 20 years ago, we always put our work first and our family came second. We were always the ones who have children later in life or have no children at all. I'm [AGE] now and I married my college sweetheart. We went to the same school and we are still together. It's going to be 21 years that we've been married. It's all because we met when everything was starting, and we walked this road together, just being there for one another. He understands my dedication because he's witnessed this since I was [AGE]. I have not changed. I've worked long hours my whole life. He came to respect that. He's the guy that would come to the hospital when I was on call every 3 days for 24 hours and wait for me in the parking lot. He still does that today because I'm still on call. It's a relationship based on love and really respecting what we have decided to do with our lives. He's my best friend and we grew up together. The balance is the respect, the respect for each other. He grew up seeing me do on calls, take boards, fail, then succeed, try harder and harder until finally he saw me achieve things I wanted to achieve and make dreams come true, and I did the same with him. With my family, I have an agreement. I see my sisters on Saturdays, and my mom and dad are retired in the Caribbean. I go to them at least once or twice a year, but they come to us at least two or three times a year. We make it work.