WHITNEY JAMES MD, SURGEON AND YALE GRADUATE JOINS THE NORTHERN ARIZONA PAIN INSTITUTES’ TEAM
Meet
Whitney James, MD PC
The challenge of bringing neurosurgery
into the 21st Century with patient-friendly outpatient care has more
than met its match in Whitney James, MD. As the Quad Cities’ newest
neuromodulatory surgeon, Dr. James has launched her medical practice at
Northern Arizona Pain Institutes (NAPI) in Prescott.
Melding the art and science of medicine,
Dr. James applies outpatient surgical solutions to alleviate brain, spine, and
peripheral nerve damage caused by chronic pain, cancer, and other maladies. She
specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures with outstanding
aesthetic results and a soothing bedside manner.
“I am very motivated by the artistic and
aesthetic aspects of medicine, especially as a surgeon,” Dr. James revealed.
“Science furnishes the all-important knowledge, but the actual practice of medicine
is very much a performance art.”
She characterizes her business model as
a “game changer,” due to its ease and simplicity for patients, along with
reduced costs for the medical community.
Under the care of Dr. James, patients are able to recover in the
familiarity and comfort of their own homes with the loving support only family
can provide.
Traditional surgeries, in contrast, can
require several nights recuperating in a hospital and multiple weeks gaining
strength in a physical rehabilitation center. The shorter time on an operating
table in an outpatient setting proves beneficial to patients for added reasons,
including reduced risk of post-operative infections sometimes associated with
hospital stays.
“It is much more efficient operating at
an outpatient surgical center than a standard hospital,” Dr. James explained
about her work with spine and neurological injuries. She also employs a brain
treatment called Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (TES). Only recently
approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), TES utilizes electrodes
placed on the scalp by a physician to reduce pain and even potentially prolong
life for patients with glioblastoma multiforme brain tumors and other more
serious health issues.
For someone with a terminal illness, TES
can offer additional time to participate in meaningful family occasions, such
as a son or daughter’s wedding or the birth of a grandchild. In such cases, “a potential five more months
of life afforded by TES can mean everything to a patient,” Dr. James said.
Captivated as a youngster by an article
she read in a vintage Life magazine,
Dr. James spent her formative years avidly studying the brain. Entranced, she
felt called to pursue a career in neurosurgery.
“Everything that we experience,
everything we remember, we know because of our brain and the nervous system and
the stimuli coming through the brain,” she said. “It makes up who we are as
people. We still don’t understand how the brain really works. The mystery of it all still intrigues.”
Through sixteen years of medical study
and a residency in Tucson, Dr. James’ milestone achievements include a Bachelor
of Science in neuroscience from Bates College in Maine; a research fellowship
at the National Institutes of Health; a Fulbright scholarship for medical
research in Colombia; a Master’s in health science and international health
policy from Johns Hopkins University; and a Yale University Doctor of Medicine
degree. Fluent in Spanish and French,
she researched children’s health and child mortality for her Master’s thesis
while living in Bogota, Colombia.
“I am attracted to medicine because you
can literally save lives, which is incredibly rewarding as a physician,” she
explained. “You can do so much to
immediately improve the quality of life for patients. That’s why I was drawn to
surgery. The results are so tangible and rewarding. I am definitely a people
person, so I went into medicine rather than science research.”
A married mother to two young children,
Dr. James balances her love of family with her passion for wellness and the
health of the human brain.
Written
by Sue Marceau, Copywriter
Advertising Agency is Northern AZ Social
Comments
Post a Comment