Dear Readers,
Today I am starting a blog on the HWWC web page. I have been instructed to write about whatever I desire, and the people who told me that may certainly live to regret it. I decided that before I jump into any medical topic I will begin with some personal/biographical information.
My name is Carol Swindle and I have been an OB/GYN at HWWC for twenty-one years. I am a widow and the mother of two teenagers. I graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and finished my training at Vanderbilt University.
Being a physician is an essential part of who I am. I love being a doctor—I enjoy seeing patients in the office, doing deliveries, performing surgeries—all the myriad number of tasks that make up my daily duties. In OB/GYN we are called upon to help with some very important questions ranging from birth control decisions to STD testing to hormone replacement therapy. I saw a patient on Thursday who reminded me that I had been her doctor for 20 years. She was 18 then in 1989 and came in for her first Pap smear. Since then I have discussed her upcoming wedding, newlywed years, delivered her child, tied her tubes and ordered her first mammogram along with other medical issues she has needed to have addressed. She thanked me for the care I had given her and we discussed what perhaps the next 20 years will bring. This is the true calling of being a physician—developing lasting relationships with patients that endure through the years. This is one of the absolute best parts of my job.
In this space I will try to write about interesting patients, medical topics or whatever is happening in my life. I will try to be "to the point" and not boring.
Thanks so much and I look forward to talking with you all very soon.
Carol Swindle, M.D.
