Hi, I am Shami Goyal. I grew up in Bombay (Mumbai) India. I come from family of physicians (Obstetricians and Gynecologists). After spending hours at the Obstetrics and Gynecology center where my parents worked  I was lured temporarily by Obstetrics and Gynecology and eventually entered an obstetrics and gynecology residency training program in India.  Life's journey got me from Bombay to New York to enroll into Masters in Pharmacology from Long Island University and later into breast cancer research and working with HIV/AIDS patients at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.  This enhanced my desire to practice health promotion, disease prevention, and life-style modification.

 

Why family medicine?  My goal is simple: to provide health care services to my family, friends, neighbors, and community. I want to know my patients on a personal level rather than just as a number on a chart. I want to be a good doctor who is competent, thorough, and trusted.

 

I choose Altoona Family Physicians because it is an unopposed program which allows the residents to be involved in frontline decision-making for their patients. Moreover, it's a great program that came highly recommended and lived up to its high praise every step of the way. The whole of the program seemed like a well organized team of people. Faculty, staff and residents are very friendly and encouraging.  Who doesn't want to be a part of that? It’s worth a mention that the program co-residents, staff and faculty were very supportive of me being pregnant. 

 

What made me chose to be in Altoona? Altoona is very affordable and family-friendly city with great cultural, sports, recreational opportunities and close to Pittsburgh where my husband would be joining in 2010 as an Pediatric Anesthesiologist in Children’s Hospital. We were also looking for a safe environment with great schools and parks for the children as we are expecting our first baby- little princess pretty soon.