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Family Doctors
What is a Family Physician?
A Family Physician is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of common conditions, such as asthma, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Family physicians treat chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. They also provide family planning and reproductive counseling.
Family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person. Family medicine works by developing an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. Family physicians help keep their patients healthy by providing care through an individualized plan. To develop a personal treatment plan, a family physician will ask the patient questions about family health history and lifestyle to determine any health risk factors. When specialists are needed, a family physician refers the patient out and coordinates the treatment received.
Family physicians are certified by the national medical association, the American Board of Family Medicine, which requires recertification by examination every six years. To maintain board certification, family physicians must also complete at least 150 hours of continuing medical education every three years.
Professional Family Physician Organizations
The American Board of Family Medicine is the second largest medical specialty board in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is a voluntary, not-for-profit, private organization whose purposes include improving the quality of medical care available to the public; establishing and maintaining standards of excellence in the specialty of Family Medicine; improving the standards of medical education for training in Family Medicine; and determining by evaluation the fitness of specialists in Family Medicine who apply for and hold certificates.
American Academy of Family Physicians is a national association of family doctors. It is one of the largest national medical organizations, with more than 94,000 members in 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the uniformed services. The AAFP was founded in 1947 to promote and maintain high quality standards for family doctors who are providing continuing comprehensive health care to the public.
Featured Family Doctors
Family Doctor
James M. Amberg, M.D. is a family doctor who started caring for patients at Grossmont Hospital in 1983. He returned to San Diego County from residency training in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be closer to his family in La Jolla. Starting in Santee, then at Navajo and Lake Murray, Dr. Amberg finally moved onto the Grossmont Hospital Campus where he practices now. Dr. Amberg involves himself in hospital leadership, but he focuses mainly on primary care medicine. As a Family Medicine specialist he serves patients of all ages, with a wide variety of illnesses. Hypertension, diabetes, minor injuries, respiratory infections and rashes are seen daily. Preventive care (health maintenance examinations) is encouraged for men, women and children. Patients are expected to care for themselves with a balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoidance of smoking cigarettes. Minor surgery on warts, cysts, and other skin growths are performed as needed.
Family Doctor
Margaret V. Elizondo, M.D. is a board-certified Family Physician, and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She sees patients of all ages, including newborns as well as in-hospital care at Grossmont. Dr. Elizondo has received numerous awards for teaching, involving medical students and residents, as well as nurse practitioner and physician assistant students. She has served on many committees at Grossmont Hospital, including Biomedical Ethics, and has served as Chief of Staff for the hospital. This duty involves oversight of many quality of care issues, and interfacing between the hospital physicians and administrators. "My love of medicine stems from a long family tradition of doctoring. I am a 4th generation MD and feel honored and privileged to serve my community in this way. It is a special thrill to take care of one's entire family, through births and deaths, with tears of joy and sorrow, learning something new about life every day."
Family Doctor
Eva Leonard, M.D. is an internal medicine specialist who has been in full-time private practice in San Diego since 1981. Dr. Leonard is also a Voluntary Clinical Professor in Internal Medicine for the University of California, School of Medicine, teaching medical students and internal medicine residents. She is an Associate Clinical Professor for Stanford School of Medicine, teaching nurse practitioners and physician assistants. As noted in the American Medical Association website, Dr. Leonard holds the AMA Physician's Recognition Award Certificate for completion of at least fifty hours of continuing medical education annually. Her special interests include diabetes mellitus, cancer screening, preventative healthcare, women's issues, osteoporosis, end-of-life care, and medical ethics.
Family Doctor
Seth Miller, M.D. is board-certified in Family Medicine. His experience includes research in infectious diseases at Tufts University in Boston, and in orthopedic oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Miller earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biology from Boston University, then his medical degree from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2001. He completed his residency training in Family Medicine at University of Missouri in Columbia.
Family Doctor
Richard H. Reist, M.D., Ph.D. is a Board certified family doctor who earned his medical degree at Marshall University School of Medicine. Dr. Reist then went on to complete his residency at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. Currently, Dr. Reist practices at Tionesta Health Center located in Tionesta, Pennsylvania.
Family Doctor
Lee Remington-Boone, M.D. is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She sees all ages of patients, from newborn on up. Dr. Boone performs a variety of dermatologic procedures, newborn circumcisions, office-based gynecologic procedures, and joint injections. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Boone teaches medical students and residents from UCSD. She is a member of the San Diego County Medical Society and serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Academy of Family Physicians. "What I love about family medicine is the privilege of building long-lasting relationships with my patients. I view these relationships as partnerships with the common goal of physical and mental wellness. I believe prevention of disease is key and that one of my most important roles as a physician is to be an educator—second only to being a good listener. I love what I do each day—getting to know my patients, hearing their stories, seeing them through the good times and the bad. I could not imagine doing anything else."
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