Laurie C. Han, MD
Former Clinical Faculty
(1999-2002)
Goodbye message
I
remember the first time I visited Altoona - it was raining and cold and,
truthfully, did not make the best impression.
However, the people were very friendly, the hospital was very nice and
the cost of living was extremely attractive.
My husband and I decided to move here from Richmond, Virginia to start
our medical careers: he in Radiation Oncology, myself in Internal Medicine as a
faculty member at Altoona Family Physicians.
Let me tell you how beautiful the hills are year round, especially in the
fall and late spring. After living
here since finishing residency, I appreciate how much there is to do: skiing
only twenty minutes away, camping, bike trails, a lake for boating and swimming,
amusement parks, hiking, minor league baseball.
The main Penn State campus is thirty-five minutes away, with art and
music festivals, speakers, and other activities.
I don't miss the humidity of the south, and enjoy the snow in the winter.
While I am very happy with my personal and professional life here in
Altoona, it is time to move on. My
husband has been offered an opportunity that we cannot pass-up.
I am going to miss my time at AFP very much. Not only do I enjoy the residents, staff and fellow faculty,
I shall miss the patients. We see a
wonderful array of patients and pathology here in Altoona. As I tell the medical students who spend time with us, you
will see everything here: lupus,
Crohn’s Disease, viral myocarditis, acute glomerular nephritis, etc.
Unlike some of my experiences training at a large urban referral
hospital, here, as a primary care physician in an outlying hospital, you are the
one following up on abnormal test results or patient complaints, formulating the
differential diagnosis. This is very exciting: you
have the opportunity to work up the patient and make the diagnosis before the
specialist becomes involved. Too,
as the solo residency at Altoona Hospital, you are able to work with the
specialist without competition from residents in other specialty programs or
fellows.
Biography
Originally from an ocean-side suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, I never thought that I
would ultimately settle in land-locked central Pennsylvania, but here I am, and enjoying
it greatly.
I grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, taking advantage of the ocean - boating,
swimming, etc. When it came time for college, I saw it as an opportunity to see a
different part of the country and settled on the University of Virginia, in
Charlottesville. I loved my time down there, but eventually returned upon graduation to
work for Biogen, a biotechnology firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as an analytical
chemist. After five years of research I decided that it was time to pursue my long-time
wish to be a physician and, again, returned to Virginia, this time to the Medical College
of Virginia, in Richmond.
I first met my husband, Dan, at UVA (just friends). We later met up again at MCV where
he was two years ahead of me in medical school. This time we started dating and were
married during my third year clinical rotation in Family Medicine (during which I was
generously given three days off to enjoy a quick honeymoon to Cancun!).
Like a lot of couples in medicine, Dan and I have been separated during training. Our
first 6 months as a married couple were spent apart while he completed his internship at a
hospital ninety miles away from Richmond. The following year he returned to finish his
residency at MCV in Radiation Oncology while I finished my fourth year of medical school
and then started my training in Internal Medicine.
After spending a year driving the four and one-half hours from Richmond to
Altoona on alternate weekends, I can now appreciate how beautiful the hills are year
round, especially in the fall and late spring. After living here since finishing
residency, I appreciate how much there is to do: skiing only twenty minutes away, camping,
bike trails, a lake for boating and swimming, amusement parks, hiking, minor league
baseball. The main Penn State campus is thirty-five minutes away, with art and music
festivals, speakers, and other activities. I don't miss the humidity of the south, and
enjoy the snow in the winter. When we do want to visit the ocean, we drive to the coast
(five hours to Rehoboth).
In June, 2000, Dan and I added a little girl to our family.
Hopefully, our dog Buddy will not be too jealous. Car rides to the beach are a bit
more crowded. He is going to have to learn how to share.
Facts
Undergraduate University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA
Medical School Medical College of
Virginia, Richmond, VA
Residency
Medical
College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Board Certification ABIM (Internal Medicine) 1999
Years at AFP 1999-June
2002
Areas of interest
Inpatient adult medicine
G.I.
Hematology
After hours interests
Antiquing, skiing, weekend road trips with the family (husband, dog, baby)
