Dr. O'Halloran grew up on a small dairy farm near Hutchinson, Minnesota. At age 16, she says she knew she wanted to be an ob/gyn. Was Melissa inspired by long nights in the barn, assisting with the miracle of birth?
She laughs out loud. "Put it this way: When the county called one year to see if I wanted to be a Dairy Princess, my mom just laughed at them and said, 'You've got the wrong girl!'
"I was too sensitive to do anything with the animals. If anything bad happened, it made me too sad. So I stayed inside and cooked and cleaned instead."
Despite limited barn-time, Dr. O'Halloran was no stranger to hard work. As a medical technology student at St. Cloud State, she worked 40 hours a week in a hospital lab to pay her way. During medical school, she worked weekends and vacations in the lab at Glencoe Regional Hospital. "One of the biggest things I've got going for me is I've got a lot of energy," she says.
Asked to describe herself, Dr. O'Halloran responds quickly: "Enthusiastic. Happy. Vocal. Hard-working. Calm in critical situations. Compassionate and caring ... although that doesn't make me unique, especially in this practice."
Dr. O’Halloran says she feels comfortable at Southdale Ob/Gyn because “I always need to work in a place where the other doctors care about patients as much as I do.”
"It takes more than intelligence to be a good doctor," she says. "You have to be a good listener. You have to be able to put yourself in other people's shoes and realize what their lives are like."
Dr. O'Halloran fills her own life with plenty of exercise at the gym and spending time with her husband, Gerard, an ENT surgeon, their son Bennett and Emmi, their Italian greyhound. Downtime also includes watching romantic-comedy movies and reading mysteries. (Patricia Cromwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta series is a favorite.)
When it comes to appreciating a good story, though, Dr. O'Halloran says nothing inspires her more than those she hears from her patients, every day. "I've had patients go through so much, and come out so strong. It's so wonderful to see someone you've taken care of, walking around Lake Calhoun ... someone who was so sick, and you were so worried, and you say to yourself, 'Look at that!'
"And, of course, there's nothing like delivering a nice, healthy little baby, and seeing how happy people are in the delivery room. It really makes you appreciate how good life is. It's a great job."