Karl C Santiago, MD
- Pediatrics

I try to be an ally of the parents and caregivers 鈥� they are the experts on their child. I give them the best and safest advice that I have and work with them to implement that advice based on their values or the constraints that they face. I also try to understand what goes on at home, in school and in the community, because the child is going to spend 99% of their time in those settings and maybe 1% of their time in my office. The more I understand those situations, the more parents and I as a team are going to succeed in keeping their kids healthy.
Medical school doesn鈥檛 teach you the lessons you learn from parenthood. When my wife and I had our first child 鈥� my oldest is now 4 years old 鈥� I became a different kind of doctor. Now I can relate to the experiences that my patient鈥檚 parents are going through. I can anticipate their questions and anxieties because my wife and I have had similar experiences raising our own children. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 possible to ever completely put yourself in another parent鈥檚 shoes, but my role as a father definitely helps me to meet families where they are at.