Dr. Debra Bynum discovered her interest in Geriatric Medicine as a resident. During that time, she realized her love for working with older patients. “I loved the complexity of care,” she says, “and the patients themselves I found to have such amazing stories.” In addition, she also met Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead and Dr. Andrew Greganti as well as many other outstanding Geriatricians. “I thought to myself, ‘that’s the type of physician I would want to strive to be like.'”
“There are so many things I find rewarding about working with older adults,” says Dr. Bynum. “I strongly feel that older adults have so much to share. Also, so many of the people we care for have had amazing lives, have faced challenges unlike anything we have today, and have shown grit and resiliency to get to where they are. I also like the complexity of providing care to older adults. There’s often no ‘right’ way to do things. Instead, care requires weighing risks and benefits. Most importantly, it requires the patient’s goals and desires.”
One major thing that stands out to Dr. Bynum about Geriatric Medicine is that it is incredibly rewarding. On top of that, she sees Geriatricians that are consistently some of the happiest and most satisfied physicians.” As she says, “It is a wonderful field that is specialized and holistic, nuanced and complicated, and places the patient truly at the center of the care plan.”
Dr. Debra Bynum is the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Medicine, a Professor of Medicine, and the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency program.