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>> I take care of patients with Crohn's Disease,
and ulcerative colitis is my primary clinical interest.
I run the inflammatory bowel disease program,
and see patients in clinic with inflammatory bowel disease.
I have a research lab that studies inflammatory bowel disease.
This gives me a nice perspective, gives me kind of a connection between what happens in the lab
in the scientific advances and patient care that I think is really powerful,
and adds to I think the overall ability to take good care of patients.
It's really important to connect on multiple levels.
It makes no sense to take care of them from, you know, do their colonoscopies and their x-rays,
and design their medicine if you really don't know what's going on in the patient's life,
if you have no idea how the stresses can affect their disease process, or what role that plays.
And so, you know, I think -- and I think from a satisfaction point of view,
from my own academic satisfaction, if you don't connect
with the patient, then kind of what's the point?
Really, it's really nice to be able to talk to the patient, learn what their life is like,
how the disease affects their life, and how they can help kind of manage their disease.
Our whole approach is really to develop that kind of a bond with the patient
so that they understand the disease, understand why we as physicians are oftentimes
in the position of asking them to take, you know,
potentially serious medications, or do tests that are invasive.
They need to understand that, I think, so that they can be part of the process.