Get to Know a Caregiver: Johanna LaSala, MD
June 15, 2020Get to Know a Caregiver: Johanna LaSala, MD
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Information
Dr. LaSala discusses what her life and practice are like now, During COVID-19, and what she enjoys most about being a doctor.
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- 00:00Well, so Joe, what's your like
- 00:03right now like what's your
- 00:06favorite part of your job? So I,
- 00:10you know, I
- 00:11always say that my favorite
- 00:14moment is that like 8 by 12 room
- 00:18with the table and the patient.
- 00:21And that's really my moment because
- 00:23what I enjoy is the interaction with
- 00:27the patient and hearing their story and.
- 00:31Queuing into really what's important
- 00:32for them, You know so that we can
- 00:35make sure that what we're doing
- 00:37from a treatment perspective.
- 00:39You know. Of course,
- 00:40we want to take care of everybody in
- 00:43and give the best treatment we can.
- 00:45But the best treatment for you know,
- 00:48one person is not necessarily the best
- 00:50for another because of their situation,
- 00:52or because what they can do in their life
- 00:55or can't do or what's important to them,
- 00:58what their goal is.
- 01:00So queuing into that.
- 01:01Is really so important in?
- 01:03It's something that I'm missing
- 01:05now with the telemedicine,
- 01:07because there really is something
- 01:10about the whole vision and being
- 01:12in the room and maybe the energy
- 01:15between us that I miss a little
- 01:18bit right now and I'm looking
- 01:20forward to things going back
- 01:22to where they were. He Anna making
- 01:25those human connections are harder
- 01:27across the screens.
- 01:28The body language just to sort of
- 01:31seeing and and and being, you know,
- 01:33able to explain things for people that
- 01:35I've known for years and decades,
- 01:38which I'm happy to.
- 01:40People that I've known for decades.
- 01:43You know for that it's fine because
- 01:46I know that and I can queue into it.
- 01:50But for people I recently met
- 01:52or only meeting on the screen,
- 01:54it's really I feel like I'm missing
- 01:57something. Yeah, yeah, I, I I,
- 02:00I hear that I feel that too. Yeah,
- 02:03yeah, more. Um, tiring,
- 02:05you know it takes more from me,
- 02:08so my tuition dollars at work.
- 02:11My son tells me.
- 02:12It's called cognitive dissonance
- 02:14as you're missing something,
- 02:16you feel that there's something
- 02:18that's not going with your norms.
- 02:20Your brain is spending a lot
- 02:22of background time trying
- 02:24to reconcile all of that.
- 02:26Oh, that's interesting.
- 02:27That might explain my exhaustion and
- 02:30some headaches at the end of the day.
- 02:33Do an extra work.
- 02:35What's something that you wish
- 02:37your patience knew about you that
- 02:40they couldn't find on the Internet?
- 02:43So I. You know it, they probably
- 02:46know it's already by knowing me
- 02:49because I am an open book for them.
- 02:51So most of my patients know
- 02:53everything about me already.
- 02:55I think they all know I like to cook.
- 02:58They know I like to craft and I think
- 03:01if I were ever to be on a TV show
- 03:04I would be MacGyver because I like
- 03:07to invent so people know my goal
- 03:10in life is to have an as seen on
- 03:13TV product of mine.
- 03:14Can't wait to see what that
- 03:16is. I know I'm always inventing things.
- 03:19I tell you, know when I'm
- 03:21in and when I'm in my most.
- 03:23Com state I come up with the
- 03:25most unusual inventions.
- 03:26So yes, I'm an inventor at
- 03:28heart. That's wonderful.
- 03:29I remember the first time that
- 03:31we got to be real good friends.
- 03:33You showed me pictures of the art projects.
- 03:35You help your kids with and it was a
- 03:38mitochondria and you were so excited.
- 03:40So it melts that creativity
- 03:42and the sciencey part of you
- 03:44together doing those signs. That's
- 03:45absolutely right. We've had some
- 03:47major science projects come out of the
- 03:50House, and in fact, I the
- 03:52reason I had those pictures was
- 03:55we had to finally throw them out.
- 03:57The first and 2nd grade projects are
- 04:00not going to come up again last forever.
- 04:03Yeah, yeah yeah. Well thank you so
- 04:05much Joe, this is great. I know that your
- 04:08future patients and your current
- 04:10patients are going to really enjoy
- 04:12getting to know you in this way.