As a part of our “Meet Yale Internal Medicine” series, today’s feature is about Erica Heiman, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine (general internal medicine and addiction medicine).
In second grade, Erica Heiman, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine (general internal medicine and addiction medicine), was dissecting an owl pellet in science class and she remembers thinking that it “was the coolest thing ever.” Her interests in science and medicine only blossomed from there. While an undergraduate at Stanford University, she had the opportunity to major in a unique type of major, the Interdisciplinary Program in Human Biology, which focused on biology and the social parameters surrounding it. It is perhaps no surprise that Heiman grew up to be a primary care physician.
Before ending up at Yale, however, Heiman worked many jobs. After college, she went to the National Institute of Health where she facilitated international research in an administrative role while also working on some epidemiological work modeling pandemic flu mortality. She had a great appreciation for this position but felt she wasn’t in the right job. She wanted to be on the ground rather than in an office.
In 2004, Heiman joined the Peace Corps as a health volunteer in Mozambique. She spent two years helping with peer education programs around HIV/AIDS knowledge and skills and even created a girls’ empowerment camp called Redes. After returning to the states, Heiman started medical school at the University of San Francisco.
While in medical school, she also completed a Master of Science through the Berkeley School of Public Health. Combining her MD and MS degrees allowed her to merge her interests in public health and working with patients on the ground.
She ended up in primary care because she liked the continuity of it and the ability to help people in many facets of their lives. Heiman always thought she would subspecialize within Internal Medicine but felt she was interested in too many areas of medicine.
She found her niche, however, when she decided to complete the Addiction Medicine Physician Fellowship here at Yale. She ranked this fellowship because she “loved the people and the program, which offered a broad base of knowledge in addiction medicine,” said Heiman.
Heiman was drawn to addiction medicine for the same reasons she was drawn to primary care. “It hits so many areas of a patient’s life and is very multifaceted. You get to see someone transform from struggling to thriving.”
Heiman cares for patients across six clinics a week, some specifically for those with substance use disorders. Heiman is a strong proponent of addiction medicine physicians having backgrounds in internal medicine, as opposed to the traditional psychiatry background. “It’s good to tackle the problem from multiple standpoints,” explained Heiman. In her spare time, she works on research projects focused on outcomes amongst patients with alcohol use disorder.
When it comes to advice for medical students, Heiman believes that there are many ways to be a great doctor. “There are tons of ways to learn and tons of ways to deliver great care and connect with patients. Find out how you learn and operate and play to your strengths.”
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.