Theresa Michele, M.D. (’91), is next VITALS speaker

Theresa Michele, M.D. (’91) is director of the FDA’s Office of Nonprescription Drugs. She is the speaker for VITALS on January 9. The Pulse spoke with Dr. Michele about her NEOMED experience.

The Pulse: Can you talk about your path to medicine?

Dr. Michele: I decided that I wanted to be a doctor when I was in high school. I was very close to my grandmother who had breast cancer.  It was her medical journey that brought me to the point where I absolutely knew that becoming a physician was what I wanted to do. And -- I was particularly drawn to NEOMED.

The Pulse: What do you cherish most about your days at NEOMED?
 
Dr. Michele: I have a lot of good memories of NEOMED. I had so many professors who were just very inspiring! I remember the anatomy lab with Dr. Zouhair Yassine, and how he donated so much time for us to try to truly learn.  All of the university’s professors were like that.  One of the classes that I think was the best, in terms of training to become a doctor, focused on the interactive sessions where we learned how to interview a patient. That's not an intuitive practice for most people. When I went to residency programs, I encountered peers who had studied at other medical colleges – and they just didn’t have the same type of training that we received at NEOMED.

The Pulse:  In your leadership role at the FDA, you are on the frontlines of connecting with the vast majority of Americans -- who rely on over-the-counter medications --  so it’s gratifying to hear how your education at NEOMED has influenced your career.

Dr. Michele: At NEOMED, I realized that learning how to pose questions and really understand where the patient is coming from is absolutely crucial because good diagnostic skills are not based just on your laboratory tests and what the X-ray shows you, and so forth. They're based on listening to the patient. I think that's the key piece that was central to my education at NEOMED.

The Pulse: Thank you, Dr. Michele! We look forward to your VITALS appearance on Jan. 9.

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Learn more about Dr. Michele’s work in these FDA articles:

• FDA Proposes Ending Use of Oral Phenylephrine as OTC Monograph Nasal Decongestant Active Ingredient After Extensive Review | FDA
• Skip the Antibacterial Soap; Use Plain Soap and Water | FDA