Women's Health: The Doctor Is In
Syosset physician Neeta Shah takes her message on the road
May 7, 2010
When Dr. Neeta Shah begins talking about women's health, many automatically assume she's an ob-gyn.
"People hear 'women's health' and all they think about is maternity and breasts," she explains.
But that's why the Syosset resident is so happy being vice president of women's health services for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. She's actually an internist, and her job allows her to go out and tweak the public's perceptions.
She drew laughter from those assembled at the Syosset Public Library theater Wednesday morning when she asked, "Do we have any other body parts?" But the subject matter was far from lighthearted. As someone who spent years in the academic realm before moving into her current role 2 1/2 years ago, she understands that the slow evolution of medical training sometimes forces patients to be advocates for themselves.
"Doctors are often trained to ask the same questions to men and women," she says. The process leaves women uninformed when they should know that for them, waist measurement is a much bigger red flag than cholesterol level as it pertains to heart disease.
North Shore-LIJ hopes to change that culture in the coming years by developing Katz Women's Hospitals at its locations in Manhasset (next year) and New Hyde Park (2012). But regardless Dr. Shah wants women to take charge of their own health, making her happy about her career change.
"I am reaching more people this way," she says.
Dr. Shah's examples run the gamut, from admonishing women who think smoking thin cigarettes equates to less nicotine, to thinking of mammography as breast cancer prevention. She says women need to think of mammography as detection so they can focus on real prevention techniques, like diet and exercise.
Says Dr. Shah, "My goal is to empower women with the knowledge they need and tools they need not only take care of the people around them, but to take care of themselves."
