"I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor," says Dr.Anne Meschke. She first thought she wanted to be in pediatrics, but changed her mind after her ob/gyn rotation in medical school. "I found that I just loved taking care of women," she says. "And that's what I still like best about it."
Today Dr. Meschke enjoys caring for women of all ages. "My day ranges from seeing an 80-year-old woman with prolapse issues to a teenager who's nervous about her first pap smear," she says. "There isn't one age I like more."
She and her husband, Andy, have twin girls and a son. Both pregnancies were high-risk, and Meschke says the support she received at work is what any patient can expect at Southdale Ob/Gyn. "The people here really care about people," she says. "The nurses remember who you are, and are excited to see you. That supportive feeling permeates the place.
"Our son has had some health problems, and we've been thrust into the other side of medicine, which has really shown me how important it is to let your patients know that you care about them. Sometimes all people need is to feel like they're not alone."
Dr. Meschke describes herself as "kind of shy in my outside life, but not at work. I think I connect with my patients well, and they feel comfortable talking to me, so that keeps them coming back to see me!" Once a month, she connects with her high school friends for book club, but most of her free time is spent at home with her kids, husband, and Hungarian Vizla, Riley.
"I LOVE being a mom," she says with a smile. "When I leave work, I can't wait to get home to my kids."
At the same time, she knows when work must come first. "It may be 5:30, and I really want to go home, but I know my patient is waiting at home for a phone call, and the biopsy is normal, and I need to make that call. I want my patients to feel like I've got all the time in the world for them. When patients need you, they need you. That's all there is to it."