By Joanne Benzor, MD
It’s been tough at times, juggling medicine and motherhood. I never wanted children until I hit 30. Then I wanted four of them. I had four kids in seven years while being in solo practice that didn’t include inpatient care, didn’t take any managed care patients, and was literally five minutes from home. I was sole proprietor/owner of Family Medical Clinic of Perris, a small city in Riverside County. Those were busy but wonderful years.
After a divorce and the sale of my practice, I found myself working 10 hour days, five or six days a week. My kids’ grades started to slip and my second oldest started behaving badly in school and at home. In November of 2005 I saw a posting on Craigslist for a “420 Friendly Physician Assistant.” I replied and tried to convince them that hiring an MD would be to their advantage.
I was the first doctor hired by Jean Talleyrand, MD, the owner of MediCann, a chain comprised at the time of eight clinics throughout California. MediCann had previously employed physician assistants (PAs) to see patients.
Read “Good Physician Barred from Practicing Medicine” in O’Shaughnessy’s
