In this episode, we are joined by Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD. Dr. Baumgaertel is an internal medicine physician with over 30 years of experience. She is also a patient and has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 24 years.
In her clinical practice, she often recognized that patients needed assistance with navigating the increasingly challenging medical arena. She stepped away from direct patient care in 2021 and founded MyMDadvocate.com in early 2022. Dr. Baumgaertel now serves as a physician consultant, healthcare navigator, personal coach and medical advocate.
As a patient and as a physician, she has a lesson to share with us. She tells us, “I help people navigate medical systems by speaking about ways to work effectively with their healthcare team and advocating for individualized care.”
Her three takeaway life lessons:
1. Making an autoimmune diagnosis is typically a marathon, not a sprint.
2. Autoimmune disease validation comes in many, often surprising, forms.
3. Diagnoses can morph over time, and the “moving target” scenario can be fatiguing.
We hope that when you listen to this podcast you will feel like you are not alone, you are validated in your symptoms, and you can take a breath and try to gain patience with the medical process of diagnosis.
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By Dr. Beth Vukin M.D. and Dr. Kara Wada M.D.
4.5
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In this episode, we are joined by Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD. Dr. Baumgaertel is an internal medicine physician with over 30 years of experience. She is also a patient and has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 24 years.
In her clinical practice, she often recognized that patients needed assistance with navigating the increasingly challenging medical arena. She stepped away from direct patient care in 2021 and founded MyMDadvocate.com in early 2022. Dr. Baumgaertel now serves as a physician consultant, healthcare navigator, personal coach and medical advocate.
As a patient and as a physician, she has a lesson to share with us. She tells us, “I help people navigate medical systems by speaking about ways to work effectively with their healthcare team and advocating for individualized care.”
Her three takeaway life lessons:
1. Making an autoimmune diagnosis is typically a marathon, not a sprint.
2. Autoimmune disease validation comes in many, often surprising, forms.
3. Diagnoses can morph over time, and the “moving target” scenario can be fatiguing.
We hope that when you listen to this podcast you will feel like you are not alone, you are validated in your symptoms, and you can take a breath and try to gain patience with the medical process of diagnosis.
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