Interview Summary

Dr. Meher has been a family medicine physician for 12 years. She completed both her undergraduate and medical school education in India before moving to the United States, where she finished her residency in Iowa. She now lives in Minnesota and practices medicine at the Maple Grove Hospital.
Dr. Meher notes that family medicine offers a good work-life balance, typically working four days a week and finishing her day around 6:00 p.m.
Dr. Meher believes that medicine is a very rewarding field, making it a great career for anyone who enjoys helping others. She also emphasizes that it’s okay to not know which specialty you want to pursue right away in medical school. Students typically decide on a specialty by their third year of medical school, after they have shadowed many doctors and explored various specialties.
Family medicine physicians care for patients from the time they are babies through old age. They are the doctors you typically see for annual check-ups, and they also work in urgent care settings, treating patients with a variety of diseases, infections, or illnesses.
To become a family medicine doctor, you need to complete a four-year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, and a residency program of about three years.

Family Medicine Interview With Dr. Meher

What does a day in your life as a family medicine doctor look like?

I typically work four days a week, usually starting my day by seeing my first patient around 7:40 a.m. Over the course of the day, I will usually see as many as 20 patients. Most patients come in for their annual check-up or physical exam, but the family medicine doctors also see all of the urgent care patients that come in with some kind of disease, infection, or injury. For the annual check-up visits, I’ll typically see patients for around 40 minutes. But, for other appointments, like a medication check or urgent care, I will usually see the patient for about 20 minutes. I usually finish seeing patients at 5:00 p.m., and then I’ll complete all of my paperwork and forms at around 6:00 p.m. I would say that my career as a family medicine doctor has given me a very good work-life balance.

What does family medicine mean to you?

Family medicine means caring for patients from the day they are born until they are elderly. We take care of all kinds of patients, and the only thing we do not do is the work that an OB-GYN (pregnancy doctor) would do.

Can you tell us about yourself?

I have been a family medicine physician in practice for 12 years, and I work for Voyage Healthcare at the Maple Grove Hospital. I completed both my undergraduate and medical school education in India, where I practiced medicine for about 4-5 years. After that, I came to the United States for my residency in Iowa. When I came to the United States, I did not have to go through medical school again. However, I did have to take all of the required exams in order to start practicing medicine in the United States for my residency. After my residency in Iowa, I moved to Minnesota to begin my current job at the Maple Grove Hospital.

Full Q&A With Dr. Meher

Can you describe a patient interaction that still resonates with you today?

I do not have a specific example, but generally every day I will likely have one patient interaction that I think about all day. Oftentimes, there will be difficult situations that leave me thinking throughout the day about how I can best help a patient.

How much education is required to become a family medicine doctor?

I completed four years of undergraduate studies, followed by four years of medical school in India. After that, I moved to the United States where I completed three years of residency in Iowa.

How did you become interested in family medicine?

In India, I started my career as a family medicine doctor, and it was something that I really liked. My interest in the field grew from there. I love being a family medicine doctor because I can see all different kinds of patients. I also get to be a part of my patients’ families, which is very rewarding because I get to see and take care of their whole family. My 12 years as a family medicine doctor have been amazing because I don’t just get to know about my patients’ medical history, but I get to know them at a personal and family level.

What is the career outlook for a family medicine doctor?

The career outlook is strong and continues to grow for family medicine doctors. There is a need for these doctors in a variety of places, not just in cities but also in more remote areas. Family medicine physicians are really the building block of society and the healthcare system, and it is a field that continues to be in high demand.

What is your favorite part of being a family medicine doctor?

My favorite part is seeing newborn babies when they come from the hospital. As a family medicine doctor, I see the newborns in the hospital and during their first week at the clinic. When I see the babies in the clinic, I assess their overall health and growth, and answer any questions that the parents may have.

What are the biggest challenges of being a family medicine doctor?

It is sometimes challenging when patients come in with diseases that I do not have all the answers to as a family medicine provider. In these situations, I have to figure out the best way to help the patient, such as finding a specialist who can better support their needs. This can be difficult because I have to figure out the kind of specialist I am looking for, set up the appointment with the specialist, and determine how soon the patient can receive treatment.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in the healthcare field and is trying to figure out what profession is best for them?

I would say that the healthcare field is very rewarding, and if you like helping others, a career in medicine would be perfect for you. In medical school, you will shadow a variety of different providers, which will help you learn which area of medicine you would like to pursue. You don’t have to decide anything right away in medical school, but after rotations and shadowing, most people figure out what specialty they want to go into. It is usually by your third year of medical school that most people will know what field they want to go into, so you should not feel like you need to have everything figured out in your first year of medical school.