Hooked on Rheum with George Muñoz, MD

As a fourth-year medical student doing an elective rotation in rheumatology, I was initially impressed by my first mentor, Dr. Harry Spiera, section chief and clinician extraordinaire at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

I was most attracted to his persona as a gentle, kind individual with Sherlock Holmesian clinical intuition, and possessing vast clinical experience and acumen in the ordinary and esoteric of medicine. It was his kind, empathic manner of engaging both patients and house staff that most impressed me at a time in my career when these traits were not emphasized.

At that time, an air of machismo competed heavily with Harry Spiera’s humanistic approach. His demeanor and behavior, along with his clinical brilliance, said to me that empathic care and clinical excellence could coexist quite well, contrary to some of the modeling I was seeing in some areas. I had the good fortune to spend more time as both a junior and senior resident with him in subsequent clinical electives.

My initial impressions never wavered. His consistent message of clinical excellence, empathy and passion for teaching remained constant. Dr. Spiera and those mentors who subsequently trained me during fellowship helped form my “rheumatology psyche,” which we all agree is different than many other specialties.

Dr. Ron Anderson at Brigham & Women’s Hospital modeled patience, solid clinical skills, humor and a kind manner.

Dr. Fred Kantrowitz at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center modeled the more detached clinical and intellectual approach with superb humor. A message I gleaned from him was that it was OK to laugh and have fun while we learned.

Finally, but not last, my late ex-co-fellow Dr. Sam Schatten taught and inspired me in many facets, including a dedication to our craft, attention to detail and high intellectual engagement in a kind, competitive spirit based on learning, respect and mutual support. His memory lives on with me in every patient I see and every interaction and clinical presentation I give, as we individually and together presented as fellows numerous times to our clinical faculty.

Each of these individuals taught or inspired me in different ways. I took a little from each mentor and learned to be my own person over time. Today, I hope to pass on something to rheumatology trainees and house staff as was freely given to me early on in my career. The rheum beat goes on.

George Muñoz, MD
Program director
Larkin Rheumatology
Team physician and associate professor medicine
Herbert Wertheim School of Medicine at Florida International University
Chief of integrative medicine
American Arthritis and Rheumatology Associates.