Physician Spotlight: Amanda Callegan-Poche', MD
Amanda Callegan-Poche’, MD, says some of her most rewarding moments at work come when she can put a patient’s mind at ease. Whether it’s simplifying her description of a condition or diagnosis to ensure they understand it or celebrating their achievement of a lower A1C, Dr. Callegan-Poche’ says those are the moments that bring her joy.
“I’ve always loved helping people, and while I didn’t have family in the medical field, I was always drawn to the help doctors provided to various family members with health issues,” Callegan-Poche’ recalls. “I love kids, so I knew I wanted to pursue pediatrics. But I also found I really liked the complexity of internal medicine, working with older patients, and helping them manage conditions like hypertension and diabetes. I was thrilled when I found out I could do both.”
Callegan-Poche’s journey to becoming an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) provider began in the small, south Louisiana town of Plaquemine where she grew up. With only one pediatrician’s office in town, you can imagine how busy the doctors were. As a patient, the rushed feeling of her appointments never fazed her until she began having recurring headaches as a young teenager. She began to feel that her concerns weren’t being heard or addressed and asked her parents if she could find a new doctor.
“My new physician, Dr. Kevin Dean, really took the time to listen to me and address allof my concerns,” Callegan-Poche’ says. Ultimately, an MRI was ordered, and theyfound out she had atypical migraines. “My overall experience w sh a positive one. It felt good to be heard andto finally understand what was going on.”
Dr. Dean was a Meds-Peds physician. “I don’t think he knows the impact he made on the trajectory of my career and how I practice medicine today! Maybe I should send him this article and let him know,” laughs Callegan-Poche’.
Today, Callegan-Poche’ sees patients three days a week and says making time to build and sustain a relationship with her patients is a top priority. Whether it’s anew patient or someone she’s cared for over many years, getting to know them on a personal level can often be the key to a successful diagnosis. Understanding their family dynamics, jobs and even what hobbies they enjoy provides invaluable insight and strengthens the doctor-patient connection.
“I’ve alwaysbeen a huge proponent of preventive care, so the recent industry shift to andfocus on keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital has been an intuitiveone for me,” Callegan-Poche’ says. She believes that if patients see theirphysicians regularly and get all their screenings done, they can prevent theearly onset of many illnesses and the bad outcomes that follow. She believesthat primary care physicians play an integral role in both preventive care andin coordinating whatever specialty care a patient may need.
Callegan-Poche’ says the resources she has access to through Ochsner Health Network help ensure her patients are getting the right care at the right time.
“Penny Parks, our clinical care coordinator, certainly makes my job a lot easier," Callegan-Poche’ says. “She goes through our patient lists and helps schedule important screenings like mammograms; she gets records release forms from patients and makes sure they get to me; she also sees to it that we’re meeting important care guidelines and quality measures. Our lead physician at Ochsner LSU Shreveport, Dr. [Lauren] Beal, has also been instrumental in providing educational opportunities to make these shifts as easy as possible for us. All-in-all, not much of my practice has changed because we were already paying attention to a lot of the preventive care guidelines.”
When she’s not seeing patients, she is teaching medical students and residents at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine, a gig she enthusiastically accepted upon completion of her Med-Peds residency at the same school. “Teaching is another passion of mine. I tutored kids when I was in middle school, high school and even in college. Seeing that lightbulb moment never gets old, no matter what age the student is. It’s such a privilege to play a small part in their journey toward becoming a doctor!”
Dr. Callegan-Poche’ teaches medical students and Internal Medicine and Med-Peds residents and supervises residents in clinic a couple of days each week. “I enjoy helping prepare students and residents for their exams and helping them make connections between lectures and clinical experience,” she says. “Helping them learn how to be good doctors, how to listen to their patients and really understand their needs, is very rewarding.”
Fulfilling another lifelong dream, Dr. Callegan-Poche’ is also a mom. She shares three beautiful boys – Kinkade, 6, Kameron, 4 and Keegan, 6 months, with her husband, Kodi. The family loves visiting national parks “especially if mountains are involved," hiking and tending to a vegetable garden and a butterfly and hummingbird garden. Dr. Callegan-Poche’ also enjoys coaching her oldest son’s youth baseball team. “I’m the official coach and the unofficial team doctor!" she jokes.
If you would like to be featured in an upcoming OHN Physician Spotlight, or you’d like to recommend another provider with an interesting story to share, email carlie.boudreaux@ochsner.org