Peer Perspectives: Camile Gooden, MD, FACP

Physician Advisor
NYU Langone Hospital–Suffolk
Patchogue, NY

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine
Mineola, NY

1. What is your current professional position?

My current professional positions are Physician Advisor at NYU Langone Hospital–Suffolk in Patchogue, NY, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine in Mineola, NY.

2. Why did you choose internal medicine?

I chose to practice internal medicine because of the comprehensive nature of the specialty, intellectual rigor, and the deep reliance on building long-standing relationships with patients, families, and colleagues to address complex multisystem problems to ensure patients have the best health outcomes. From a clinical perspective, internal medicine demands integration and attention to factors that impact patient’s health beyond the intrinsic. These include environmental, social, economic, and other determinants of health that must be accounted for to provide equitable evidence-based care to every patient. As an internal medicine physician, I truly get to know my patients and become a partner in ensuring their health and well-being by building trust as I care for them through acute/episodic illness and chronic disease management. 

3. What trends are you seeing in your day-to-day practice (with patients, the health care system, or otherwise)?

On a day-to-day basis, I see that patients strongly rely on the expertise of their primary care doctor to navigate the complexities of an ever-changing health care system. Many are facing changes in their insurance coverage that reduces access to medications and services that could significantly impact their health. I have a patient who, due to the changes in health care subsidies, was facing loss of her ability to afford insurance coverage. This was quite terrifying for her and me as she had recently had coronary artery bypass graft surgery; she needed to have regular follow-up with her primary care and specialists and remain on several lifesaving medications that she might not have been able to afford without insurance. Health care changes are having a real impact on our patients, and it is up to us as physicians who are uniquely positioned to have a deep understanding of the implications to be advocates for our patients. 

4. What do you want to accomplish professionally within the next five years?

My goal in the next 5 years is to continue to expand on my work in reducing health care disparities and increasing health equity. I am a bold, passionate, and unwavering advocate for increasing affordable, high-quality, and equitable care to underserved communities. I want to not only treat disease but also have a positive impact on how health care is delivered and in ensuring all patients have access to a fair and just opportunity to achieve their highest degree of health. This requires system-level changes to address the root causes of health care disparities and to tailor our interventions to the specific needs of our at-risk population. 

5. Can you share a brief (and anonymous) patient encounter or professional situation that made you proud to be an internal medicine physician?

Over the last 2.5 years, I have had the opportunity to be engaged in health equity work. I chair the NYACP Health Equity Task Force and chair the Health Equity Subcommittee at my local facility. I am an appointed member of the Suffolk County Legislature’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force where I am focused on increasing awareness of Black maternal health disparities. Through this work, I have been able to connect with many health care professionals, patients, community organizations, and the Suffolk County Department of Health Office of Minority Health to advance initiatives, foster partnerships, and advocate to reduce disparities and improve Black maternal health outcomes. Last year, I was honored to have been awarded the NYACP Chapter Excellence Award in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I am proud to be an internal medicine physician who works to improve quality care and health equity for all patients on an individual and population level.