Texas internist finds time to lead Joint Commission and run marathons
A number of quality improvement programs available from the College can help.
Isabel V. Hoverman, MACP
Age: 62
Occupation: Private practitioner in a four-physician group.
Current residence: Austin, Texas.
Hometown: Princeton, N.J.
Family: husband, three children, two grandchildren.
Medical school: Duke University.
Residencies: Duke and Baylor College of Medicine.
Most important lesson I learned in med school: Know your limitations, and never be afraid to ask for help.
Why I became an internist: The challenge of helping patients to manage their health: establishing rapport, making a diagnosis, then partnering with patients and families through good and bad.
First job: Counselor at girls' camp in Maine.
Most rewarding aspect of my job: My patients.
Most rewarding professional activity: Being on the board of the Joint Commission.
Future goals: I'd like to learn to speak Spanish.
Biggest challenge I've faced: How to balance work and family.
Thoughts on women in medicine: It's certainly offered obstacles and opportunities. My daughter just graduated from medical school, and I look at the opportunities that she has, and I'm pleased to see how far we've come.
Personal heroes: Eleanor Roosevelt and my children—a lawyer, an architect and a physician.
Favorite ways to spend free time: Reading, biking and running.
Books on my night stand: Out Stealing Horses: A Novel, by Per Petterson; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver; A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern, by Kirk Varnedoe.
Most meaningful non-medical accomplishment: Running my first marathon last year and qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon in 2007.
Items you can't live without: My Tempur-Pedic mattress and the Internet.
Biggest regret: None, it's never worthwhile being disappointed for long. There are too many other opportunities in life.
If I weren't a physician, I would be: A high school teacher.
