In it for the long run

A story of dreams and medicine, and how to keep going

Posted 1/4/23

NORTHEAST PA — Dr. Kevin Beltré, born to Dominican parents and raised primarily in Philadelphia, knew during high school that he probably was bound for a medical career.

He made it. …

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In it for the long run

A story of dreams and medicine, and how to keep going

Posted

NORTHEAST PA — Dr. Kevin Beltré, born to Dominican parents and raised primarily in Philadelphia, knew during high school that he probably was bound for a medical career.

He made it. Dr. Beltré, now 32, graduated a few years ago from medical school in Scranton, specializing in emergency medicine.

But young doctors—and old ones, and others in the medical profession—are facing unprecedented challenges. The American Medical Association recently found that three out of five physicians are dealing with burnout. One in five report depression. Doctors and others are planning early retirement.

Dr. Beltré’s story highlights not just a young doctor’s journey, not just the success of the child of immigrants, but the situation facing medical staff today, and how young doctors can cope.

A journey with ‘two beginnings’

His mother, now a psychotherapist, and an uncle who works as a radiologist in the Dominican Republic, partly influenced his decision to enter the healing profession, he said. Even before graduation from the Roman Catholic High School for Boys, he became a pool lifeguard, received basic first aid lessons, and bandaged a few young swimmers’ scraped knees.

Dr. Beltré’s father, an architect, was supportive of his son’s career pursuit, too, and celebrated when he landed a full scholarship to attend Penn State University.

“I was like a horse with blinders on, just focused on medicine in college,” Dr. Beltré recalled. “That was the only thing on my mind: getting good grades [so I would be accepted to medical school].”

Admittedly not a straight-A student in college, he was nevertheless serious about his studies, and found the city of Scranton conducive to his medical school experience—with fewer distractions than his hometown or other major metro areas. He graduated from what is now the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Dr. Beltré was a fan of the school’s innovative curriculum model. It exposed students to a daily variety of medical concentrations, rather than immersing them in only one for weeks at a time. “It worked for me,” he said. “I might have gotten bored doing the same thing all the time.”

After finishing medical school and then entering an emergency medicine residency at a separate regional institution, Dr. Beltré recalibrated his career path. He shifted to the Wright Center, following a different medical focus.

Perhaps not coincidentally, at about the same time, he acquired a Siberian husky and named it Genji, a Japanese word meaning “two beginnings.”

Dr. Kevin Beltré and his Siberian husky, Genji, enjoy a stop at a coffee shop in Scranton, PA. It’s one of the places the resident physician finds especially appealing in the community. ..
Dr. Kevin Beltré and his Siberian husky, Genji, enjoy a stop at a coffee shop in Scranton, PA. It’s one of the places the resident physician finds …

Why begin again?

Emergency medicine means shift work—including evenings and nights—and the constant crises seen in an emergency department. Five years before the pandemic, a story in MedPage Today found that while 45 percent of physicians reported burnout, ER docs “had the dubious distinction of being the specialty with the highest burnout rate: more than 60%.”

To lessen the likelihood of burnout, Dr. Beltré switched a few years ago from emergency medicine, which he realized wasn’t the right fit for him, to family medicine, and realized he would make primary health care a lifetime pursuit.

Recently, he signed an employment contract with the Lehigh Valley Health Network. It will keep him actively treating children and adults in the region, where he finished the Wright Center’s residency in December 2022.

He expects to begin his new job in early March 2023 at offices near the newly opened Lehigh Valley Hospital—Dickson City. For Dr. Beltré, it will be a major personal milestone. “I just can’t wait to be there March 6 as an attending physician,” he said.

“Doctor Beltré’s journey in many ways exemplifies why the Wright Center exists,” said Dr. William Dempsey, deputy chief medical officer for the Wright Center for Community Health. “He’s a bright, empathetic physician who grew up in this state, did his training with us, and now will apply his skills and knowledge in this community for the benefit of local residents—possibly for decades.”

Caring for patients

Now in his career comfort zone, Beltré’s commitment to patients comes shining through in his daily work. The bilingual doctor frequently uses his fluency in Spanish to assist patients at the Wright Center’s practices in Clarks Summit, Jermyn and Scranton, and said he is privileged to earn patients’ trust.

“In family medicine, I have more time to talk with the patient, form a relationship with them,” he said. “Over the long run, I’m going to feel more pride, more reward in working with patients in this situation, where there is a continuity of care from childhood into adulthood.”

 He credited certain patients for teaching him lessons—in effect making him a better physician. Likewise, he lauds the support of the Wright Center’s team, including Dr. Enrique Samonte, program director of the Regional Family Medicine Residency, and Dr. Maureen Litchman, associate program director.

Achieving balance, avoiding burnout

Rather than aiming to retire at the earliest opportunity, Dr. Beltré plans to stay in medicine for the long run, becoming “one of those doctors working well into their 70s.”

His professional goal, he said, “is to keep practicing medicine and serving the patients and community as long as I possibly can.”  

Finding the proper work-life balance will continue to be an important issue for physicians, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to exacerbate shortages in the health care workforce. “Burnout from the trauma of working through the pandemic could drive physicians to retire earlier than they might otherwise have done,” wrote Michael Dill, director of workforce studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in a June 2021 “Insights” column. Dill noted that “within the next decade, 2 out of every 5 physicians in the United States will be age 65 or older.”

The AAMC has estimated that by 2034 the United States will face a shortage of between 17,800 and 48,000 primary care physicians.

During residency training, doctors like Beltré hear about the importance of self-care for mental well-being and career longevity, and they can participate in a growing number of wellness and resiliency activities.

Beltré’s self-care regimen includes frequent trips to the gym, walks with his dog Genji, video games, drumming and socialization with family and friends.

For him, another guard against career burnout is the intellectual stimulation inherent in medicine, which is a constantly evolving field.

“You always have to be reading up on new developments, always be learning. I think medicine is the right niche for my mind,” he said. “I don’t see myself doing anything else.”

Story contributed by the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. Annemarie Schuetz contributed some information.

Dr. Kevin Beltré, the Wright Center

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