Peer Perspectives: Mark Owusu, MD, MPH

Mark Owusu, MD, MPH
Locum Hospitalist
HCA Tristar System at Tristar Summit Medical Center, Hermitage/Nashville, TN
Tristar Parkridge Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN
Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center, Hendersonville, TN
Tristar Greenview Medical Center, Bowling Green, KY

1. What is your current professional position?

My current professional position is Locum Hospitalist with HCA Tristar System at Tristar Summit Medical Center (Hermitage/Nashville, TN), Tristar Parkridge Medical Center (Chattanooga, TN), Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center (Hendersonville, TN), and Tristar Greenview Medical Center (Bowling Green, KY).

2. Why did you choose internal medicine?

I chose internal medicine because it is the only specialty to give me the opportunity to treat the patient as a whole. It allows me the opportunity to tackle complex medical conditions critically in the form of a puzzle from the outset until I get to the diagnosis. It is a joy to see my patients every day. 

3. What trends are you seeing in your day-to-day practice (with patients, the health care system, or otherwise)?

Patients are getting sicker as the years go by and are having more issues with access to care. The health care system in the United States is undergoing a significant transformation as costs for insurance coverage and copays continue to go up. Most patients are refusing to follow up until they are very sick due to health insurance issues and copay issues. The next trends are changes in technology such as AI, the evolving complexities in treatment options, and the changing demands of patients. As the government tries to cut health funding, various organizations are going to try to cut costs and focus on efficiency.

4. What do you want to accomplish professionally within the next five years?

I plan to have my own outpatient clinic within the next 5 years with an additional walk-in clinic for the uninsured.

5. Can you share a brief (and anonymous) patient encounter or professional situation that made you proud to be an internal medicine physician?

A 23-year-old man presented with fatigue, weakness, bruising, a rash for 1 month, and one episode of dizziness and LOC for 1 day. The patient revealed numbness of the left chin and lip for more than 2 months before the other symptoms. My exam showed sensory deficit. He had conjunctival pallor, diffuse pallor, diffuse petechial rash, and ecchymosis. The peripheral smear showed matured B-cell leukemia with 63% blast. The results of the bone marrow biopsy showed hypercellular BM greater than 90% with extensive involvement of Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma. MRI of the brain, with and without contrast, showed right frontal intracranial brain metastasis. A CT scan of the neck soft tissues showed large right supraclavicular and axillary lymphadenopathy. The patient underwent treatment and did well. This is a good example of what always makes me proud to call myself an internal medicine physician.