Alexandra Abbott, MD

The connection I have with my patients is incredibly important. With good communication to understand patients’ goals and concerns in the visit, I can prioritize these and provide the best possible care. A good connection with a patient and his or her family also supports trust in my expertise and experience—it’s hard to trust someone with your health care if you don’t know or like them! Seeing your doctor should feel like getting help from someone you like and trust. After the visit, patients should feel reassured and relieved that they were taken care of and that someone is looking out for their interests.

In pediatrics, one of the most rewarding things is when a nervous child ends the doctor’s appointment with a smile. In sports medicine, it is so rewarding when an athlete can return to sport. When they cannot return to sport or play immediately, my goal is for young athletes to understand the recovery process and return stronger than they were before.

I chose to become a pediatrician because of my strength in connecting with children, adolescents, and young adults. It’s so fun to make a toddler smile with cartoons and funny faces and then to go in the next room and find common interests and vibe with a teenager or college student. I had many nonclinical experiences as a coach or tutor that helped strengthen these skills and have spent my whole life as an athlete. As a collegiate soccer player, I gained perspective about what many of my patients go through when they are healthy or when they are injured.