Dr. Cori Lynn Norgaard

Dr. Norgaard is an absolutely amazing physician with the patience of a saint. While she was out on maternity leave I experienced an issue with one of the residents who was taking care of her patients (a resident is a medical school graduate who is doing training to specialize in a field of medicine). When I returned to the office to have some paperwork completed and obtain a pre-op physical, nobody was really comfortable doing it because none of the other physicians had an ongoing relationship with me. Dr. Norgaard actually came into the office (despite still being on maternity leave) to take care of me. Dr. Norgaard assumes a patient-oriented approach to medicine and strives to ensure that individuals are included in their treatment. From my experience with her, it seems as though her goal is to establish a collaborative partnership with the patient to ensure that both she and the patient understand what is important to one another, why, and how the best results can be… achieved. The office isn't perfect, though. Like any teaching practice (they have lots of residents), there are bound to be some issues. The residents, though, are still learning, and so they, too, sometimes require a little patience from the patients. There is also some turnover of assisting staff (medical assistants), but those who have been there for quite a while are compassionate, friendly, and supportive. There is also the issue of referrals... because she practices in internal medicine and is particularly cautious, Dr. Norgaard has a tendency to refer to specialists. For those who are comfortable with the general practitioner or family practice model, this may be a little off-putting, as if to say that the doctor doesn't really know what she is doing... that, though, isn't the case at all. She is being cautious and involving a physician with specialized training to ensure that I (and you) are as healthy as we can be. At the end of the day, I trust this woman with my life. I am not a particularly easy patient... I'm demanding, obstinate, and sometimes just downright odd... but she has consistently exuded patience and compassion to such a degree that I could not imagine having anybody else at the head of my healthcare team.

Will debate coming back and writing all of the things that actually happened. Considered filing malpractice. BAD. BAD. BAD. Actually had her staff whispering to me on the phone, "we're sorry, we don't know what's going on here. . . "