My medical aspirations began in college as I completed a degree in Philosophy at Yale University. To me, the most challenging aspect of medicine has always been the wide variety of situations with which patients present. Unlike working on a car or other inanimate object, each patient comes with values, beliefs, expectations, and desires in addition to the problem at hand that brought him or her into the office. I have always viewed patients in terms of applied philosophy and believe that good patient care requires taking these values, beliefs, expectations, and desires into account. This is what makes medicine an art. My formal medical education continued on the East Cost at Yale University School of Medicine, where I obtained my Medical Doctorate. I then began the journey by moving to Cleveland Ohio where I did my five year internship and residency at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland. I completed my surgical training through an additional year of hand and microvascular surgery study in the Cleveland Combined Hand Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Cleveland's busy Level I Trauma Center, MetroHealth Medical Center. My wife Gretel, my son Nick and I then moved to Idaho, fulfilling the dream to "move to the mountains" that originally brought Gretel and I together. We have become involved with many of the outdoor activities that the Treasure Valley and surrounding areas have to offer and are immersed in the exciting process of bringing up our children (now including my daughter Kathryn) in the Western lifestyle. Gretel is a midwife, and medicine is constantly on our minds. I also believe in "a sound mind in a healthy body", however, and I think that the vibrant, modern West embodies this better than any other area I have visited. I am proud to join the dynamic Boise melting pot and am looking forward to contributing to the evolution of orthopaedic medicine in this area. Click for more doctor bios