Music teacher turned DO marches to new beat

Working as a music teacher in West Palm Beach, Fla, for 15 years, April R. Smith-Gonzalez, DO, challenged her students to search for harmony and balance.

As a 2009 graduate of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine-Bradenton (LECOM-Bradenton) in Florida, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez plans to continue that tradition with the patients she treats.

"One of the things that drew me to this profession was its focus on the way our muscles, bones and nerves all work together to create balanced harmony in the body," Dr. Smith-Gonzalez says. "Osteopathic medicine focuses on function and structure, giving DOs a very well-rounded approach to treating patients."

When she completes her family medicine residency at Florida Hospital East Orlando, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez plans to open a wellness center focusing on prevention. "I'm interested in finding solutions to health problems before they start," she explains.

The winner of LECOM-Bradenton's Dedication to Primary Care award for family medicine, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez says incorporating osteopathic manipulative medicine into her practice has always been one of her long-term goals. "I can't imagine practicing medicine without putting my hands on patients," she says.

Noteworthy start

Unlike many of her LECOM-Bradenton classmates, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez' journey to become a DO did not take a direct route. In fact, her major passion in life for many years was music, not medicine.

Playing piano since she was a child, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

But after teaching piano full-time for more than 15 years, she found herself ready for a new challenge. When she set her new career course, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez drew confidence from the high marks she earned in the upper-level science and math courses she took during college. "That wasn't a part of my personality I had tuned into," she explains. "But when I became more serious about medicine, I realized I was capable of things I had never imagined."

Focus on primary care

The need for primary care physicians in her hometown of West Palm Beach was one of the biggest factors that led Dr. Smith-Gonzalez to pursue her new career as a family physician.

According to Dr. Smith-Gonzalez, the high cost of professional liability insurance is contributing to the shortage, causing many south Florida physicians to hang up their stethoscopes for good. "Physicians there are quitting every day," she says.

Although she may face challenges, Dr. Smith-Gonzalez remains focused on providing the best possible quality of care for her future patients. "There is a such a need for high quality primary care physicians," she says. "I'm looking forward to helping fill that gap."