Hooked on Rheum with S. Louis Bridges, MD, PhD
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As a college student, I met a young woman, a member of my church, with severe, deforming rheumatoid arthritis. Despite her severe pain and difficulty with daily activities, she had an amazing attitude and provided inspiration for me to want to help people with chronic medical conditions.
During medical school, I enjoyed learning about immunology and how the body can defend itself against foreign antigens, and how that can go awry and result in autoimmunity. During my first clinical rotation as a medical student, I had a fascinating patient with lupus. This further strengthened my desire to become a rheumatologist. As a medical resident, I realized that rheumatology practice provides a wonderful opportunity to get to know patients personally over a long period of time. This combination of factors led me to choose rheumatology as a specialty, a decision I have never regretted.
I was fortunate to have great mentors during my journey to becoming a rheumatologist. These compassionate physicians were superb at taking a history, performing a physical exam and integrating many sources of data to piece together the correct diagnosis. Many were also outstanding investigators, and they were wonderful role models who made me want to use of my skills to help patients and gain more knowledge to create innovative approaches to treatment.
My career as a rheumatologist has been extremely rewarding, and I am very thankful to all the patients and peers who have inspired me. As a medical student, I had no idea that I would spend my entire career in academic medicine. My mentors along the way — through medical school, residency, fellowship and graduate school — provided me with the skills and knowledge to succeed. More importantly, they encouraged, supported and sustained me as I developed a passion for excellence in clinical care, teaching and research that led me to my current role as physician-in-chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
S. Louis Bridges, MD, PhD
Physician-in-Chief, Chair, Department of Medicine
Hospital for Special Surgery
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
HSS and New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Franchellie M. Cadwell Professor of Medicine, HSS
Joseph P. Routh Professor of Rheumatic Diseases in Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine