Hooked on Rheum with Norman B. Gaylis, MD - Healio
October 01, 2021
1 min read
I grew up in South Africa, and my late father was a well-known general practitioner. I used to go along with him on house calls and that was my first hook in medicine, per se. I was drawn into it — and maybe that was his intention.
I also used to use his glass syringes and needles to inject solutions into oranges or back into the bottles, because I was fascinated with the procedure. As a rheumatologist, I have done well north of one million injections, and I believe that experience as a child was the beginning.
Norman B. Gaylis
As a medical student, I was chosen randomly by the head of pathology to review the subject of autoimmunity. It was the 1970s, and I did not know anything about the subject. My classmates and I were trying to understand it, and when I started to research the subject for my presentation, I became fascinated with rheumatology. From there, I found I had a natural interest in autoimmunity and really enjoyed putting together the pieces of the puzzle.
When I emigrated to the U.S. in 1976, I settled in Miami. I attended the University of Miami and was exposed to physicians like Norman GottliebRoy Altman and David Howell. They nurtured my interest in rheumatology by example, and it was a great time to be taught by and work with these great physicians.
The final scenario in becoming a rheumatologist came in the second year of my fellowship, when there was no longer funding for me. I started doing clinical research as part of my fellowship, and this offered me a meager salary. When I stepped into private practice, I had that previous exposure to clinical research that many people who were interested in rheumatology did not have and this started a journey to developing many of my own clinical research protocols. It is a big part of what I do every day.
All these people I have met and worked with over the years really created for me a tremendous passion for being a rheumatologist. But, looking back, the best part is that this specialty has allowed me to form long-term relationships with my many patients, including multiple generations of families. This makes rheumatology much more than just a job, and I feel like it is who I am.
Norman B. Gaylis, MD
President
Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease Specialties in Miami, Florida
Scientific advisory board, Inmedix, Inc.
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