Describe the women who have most influenced your life and the formation of your character.

One of my aunts, not a biological aunt, was married but didn't have children. She was out in the work world and that fascinated me because my mother was at home. Her husband went to Vietnam. She lived close by during that time and just to see her in the world, as a working woman, as a woman who seemed to have independent thoughts of her own impressed me. I got to see her over the years thereafter, and she didn't make a huge mark on the world but she was a real role model for what it was like to consistently work in the world, and to just have thoughts that belonged to her.

I also had a grandmother who taught me about unconditional love. She was also able to speak her mind in a way that didn't incite or anger people. She was respectful of other people but had her own thoughts and her own perspective as well. She impressed me by her way of being in the world and not having to compromise, by speaking her mind but not alienating people in the process of doing that, of having that underlying tone of really caring about others in a way that was truly unconditional. She used to sit and listen to me play piano when I was a kid, no matter what it sounded like. She would really listen with great attentiveness, although I always wondered whether she had turned off her hearing aid during those times. I think, sometimes, she must have.

Out in the greater world, the women who were explorers in some way, or in science, like Jane Goodall or people that I heard about that I never knew in my lifetime: Amelia Earhart. I respect them for being daring and being out in worlds that were often hard to be in, and hard in particular for a woman to be in. There were women singers too when I was growing up: Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Bonnie Raitt more recently; people like that who wrote amazing poetry, who have guided me over time.

Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

My understanding of feminism would be, it seems so basic, seeing through eyes from a woman's perspective. And seeing the world through the understanding that we have a place in the world that is unique and different than men, and as important as men. My mixed feelings or relationship with that word is that I haven't always agreed with the way that the leaders in the feminist movement have brought in their message. I think they've used more masculine ways of bringing across their message than, maybe, was necessary. I can only think of words that don't do this justice. The more nurturing element and the more intuitive side of human nature. And the more wandering way of getting to things that I think of as more feminine than the very linear, black and white, way that men can bring things to the table that are not necessarily consistent with life, sometimes, or consistent with supporting life. Although, at the time when they were cutting edge, the beginning leaders of the movement, that may have been the only way of bringing in the movement. It's just that I struggle with that.

What would you most like to tell your daughter, son, the next generation about your hopes for women of the future? How would you advise a young woman to go about finding her own voice?

I'd like for her to know that there are many possibilities available to her, that she is a valuable person and equal to men. The women I see who are in their 20s know that. In general, the women who are in their 30s and 40s, you can feel the question mark in their bodies when I see them. I'd like her to walk confidently in the world and know that she can explore where she wants to explore, to trust herself, and to ask the questions she feels are appropriate to ask. I think it's creating a space that's safe for her but not so safe that there's nothing to explore. Not so guarded that it's not of the world really, where the world has some danger in it, but room to explore. To teach her, even now, about what may be of true danger and just monitor myself about what message I'm sending her, without meaning to. I'm concerned about sending her "the world's a dangerous place" message. Although there are dangers there, I want to and hope to convey to her how to discern when there is danger, and when not.

What I'm trying to do, at her crawling and barely walking stage, is to make our home a place where she can explore. But as I see how she interacts with our world, I will find out where I need to protect her, as I feel that it's needed, and try to respond, as opposed to locking everything down, so that she can't trip and fall and just find out what that feels like too.

I balance work and motherhood just sort of as I go through the day trying to remember Amelia and what she needs and remember what I need to do for my job, and what I need to do for my home. It's a challenge. I'm learning how to use my time better. I'm also learning how to ask for help. My family does not live here and I'm a single mother, so I'm learning how to rely on friends. And it's really developing my friendships and developing something in me that I think is underdeveloped. Just about being of value, and having a daughter who is of value and who other people care to be with. That's a big part of what's developed since Amelia has come into the world.

How do you define success for yourself? How would you define success for the next generation?

Numerous ways. In the course of any one day, success to me would mean connecting with my patients in a way that really worked, in a way that didn't always meet their needs but had some meaning that helped them shift or helped them reach some level of wellness. And that may not be complete health but something that was meaningful for them and met their needs in a way that had some truth to it.

That's true with my friendships too, and my peer relationships, that success to me would mean that I not only had that kind of connection but also ventured into territory that was challenging to me and maybe new, risky territory.

From a practical perspective, to just being able to pay my bills, to have a little left over to explore and have fun with, to explore meaning to travel. Or just have fun with whomever I feel like, or having the time that money can create.

What made you decide to pursue your occupation?

My family. Actually, my dad is in the medical field; he's a physician. I liked what he did. He used to take us to the hospital when we were children. I liked how much he got to interact with people. I wanted to have the opportunity to do the same. Medicine seemed like a curious and interesting profession to me. You got to work with the body and with people.

More recently, what's interested me is the interplay between the mind and the body. How emotions express themselves in the body. It's something that I'd like to learn more about how emotions relate to who gets well, who doesn't get well as easily, who gets well remarkably quickly, and that whole process. What people choose to do that may impact their health, both positively and negatively and why they make those choices, out of behavioral and lifestyle choices.

What challenges have you dealt with at work or at home due to your gender? What benefits?

The women that we see here are anywhere from just out of high school, 17 or 18 years old, up until, the bulk of them, are up to 30. We definitely see women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and so on. You can really identify, even without knowing their age almost, who's 40s and who's 30s and who's 20s, simply by what their entry-level understanding of what their place in the world is.

For instance, I do a lot of annual exams on women. Women who are in their 20s who grew up in the time of AIDS have had to deal with condoms and having their partners use condoms, if they're heterosexual. They don't have as much of an awkwardness as women in their 30s and 40s in having that conversation, generally. Certainly there are those who still struggle, but in general, I see less discomfort and less having to backpedal and relearn, unlike the women in their 30s and 40s who have not been out having sex for long periods of time and not always even thinking of using condoms because at another time, it was thought not to be needed. That doesn't really acknowledge that STDs have always existed and that condoms have always been needed. HIV simply amplified the need for them.

As I walk into the room, I wash my hands, and as I do I release whatever I was thinking of or whoever I was working with beforehand and turn my attention entirely to the person who's there in front of me. Really open my heart to them, but not forsaking the fact that I'm there to be thinking about what they're saying, as well as feeling what they're saying, and having some compassion for them. Then I listen to them.

My opening question is usually, "Have you any concerns today" or "What brought you in?" I listen to how they say what they say, as well as what they say, to try to pick up any clues that may speak to how they feel about what they're there for, and that may speak to what they're really there for. Most of the time they respond positively so I use that as a guide, as feedback for myself, about whether I was on or off target with them.

What woman (living or dead) would you most like to have dinner with and why?

The woman I would most like to have dinner with that comes to mind right now is Madeleine Albright. I'd be curious to learn how she maintains any sense of self and soul in the work that she's doing. I would love to see just how she's able to be so powerful and deal with the kind of crazy work schedule that she clearly has and be able to maintain any sense of center and self, and learn from her how she's doing that.