By Thomas Xu, MD

1. What do you enjoy most about working here?

Since joining Stamford Health Medical Group, I’ve been met with warm faces and a very caring staff, both in the Wilton office and at Stamford Hospital. Everyone’s top priority is caring for the patient, and I enjoy being part of a group that tries to make sure patients feel like they’re part of the team as well, whether its accessibility or having their questions and concerns answered in time. The new office and hospital buildings are both pretty amazing as well.

2. What made you become a Primary Care physician? What do you like most about your job?

I always wanted to be a community doctor and take care of families. I grew up in a small community in China where everyone knew each other, and when I moved to the United States, I grew up in Queens and knew my friends’ families as well. As a community, it’s important to support each other and our neighbors, and as a primary care physician, I feel like I’m able to support the community though medical advice and guidance. What I enjoy most about the job stems from this sense that I’m a part of something bigger than myself as an individual. The patient that I help today could be the neighbor that helps you tomorrow with your pets or dry-cleaning or banking or garbage pickup or legal counseling or psychic reading (hey, who knows?), etc.

3. What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job in general?

Seeing a patient smile when they leave the office. As human beings, we all want to feel better if we get sick. Or we may have questions about our bodies that Dr. Google or WebMD can’t always answer. We smile when our mind is at ease and when things are pleasant. I try to make it a mission to help people attain that peace of mind through my practice of medicine.

4. What’s the most challenging aspect of your job in general?

Patients tell me all the time that they dislike the current state of healthcare because there are too many rules. They often feel like they’re jumping through hoops all the time just to get something done. I agree that sometimes the healthcare system loses sight of the obvious question, “What about the patient?” That’s the challenge presented to me in primary care and I try to do what I can to help bring the focus back to helping the individual. I like being the point person and guiding patients to help them figure out what to do next.

5. What recent accomplishment are you most proud of, personally or professionally?

I enjoy painting and making art decorations in my spare time. I recently finished a Van Gogh-style oil painting of a Japanese maple, and last year finished a Matisse-style cutout of silhouette forms. I love exploring different art mediums, and seeing if a familiar technique works with a new medium. I kind of approach it like a science experiment… art mediums are chemical compounds after all!