Member Spotlight

Sina Haeri, MD

Park City, Utah

Institution: Ouma Health

Title: CEO

Medical School: St. Matthew's University

Residency: Georgetown University & Washington Hospital Center

Fellowship Training Institution: UNC Chapel Hill (MFM), UCLA (Pathology)

What was your first job and how did it prepare you for your current position? My first job was as a faculty member at Texas Children's Hospital & Baylor College of Medicine. As a referral center, the bulk of my day was spent managing complex maternal & fetal cases, which was a great clinical learning experience in itself, but also gave me a chance to really understand the value of customer service and relationship building, which has helped me with building practices since. Lombardi's statement holds true for us as subspecialists as well: “It takes months to find a customer and seconds to lose one.”

Was there a mentor(s) inspired you? Dr. Menachem Miodovnik: he was my chairman in residency, pushed me to pursue MFM, and has remained as a mentor and advocate throughout the years.

How did the diversity (or lack of diversity in your medical educators shape your training? It isn't the diversity in my educators that has helped me in but also the diversity of my partners and staff. Residency training in the heart of DC to fellowship in the Carolinas to first job in the heart of Texas each presented differing patient settings with their own unique characteristics. The diversity in my faculty, partners, and staff proved invaluable by allowing me to understand some of their lived experience, which often reflected the local population we were caring for- items that you can't find in books or online... you have to hear it from them firsthand. 

How has your cultural background shaped you as an MFM? We lived in America as undocumented immigrants for almost a decade before being sponsored for a green card, and benefited from a variety of support programs including free meals in school, white Christmas by the local church, and our local FQHC. Every interaction, every kindness is imprinted in my head and in many ways has shaped my bedside mannerisms and patient interactions as I know just simple kindness goes a long long way.

Tell us about one of your most memorable patient encounters. This is an easy one! A 38-year-old woman who presented for preconception counseling from her REI provider for AMA and ulcerative colitis. For some reason no one has asked or known about the scar she had on her chest, which was accompanied by the unforgettable "clicking" sound when I listened to her heart, and somehow no one was aware of her mechanical heart valve...I still wonder what if.

Tell us about an MFM colleague who has been an important part of your MFM career. I've been fortunate to have some amazing mentors and colleagues, and have several close friends on speed-dial for "phone a friend" or text about [fill in the blank] that help preserve my sanity every day! They've had the biggest impact as they help me keep going no matter how good or bad the day is, no matter what the frustration, and no matter how burned out you may feel.

What role has SMFM played in your career? It's easy for us to become insulated in our corner of the world after training, but SMFM allows you to leave that bubble and interact with your peers, and watch the next generation blossom into leaders. From an education standpoint the consult series has proved invaluable, as has the annual meeting to showcase what practice changing evidence is on the horizon.

What are some of your hobbies or passions outside of MFM? Coffee with my wife, and just hanging out with the family. My favorite hobby is just being with them.

I’m excited to wake up every day and practice Maternal Fetal Medicine because…it never ceases to challenge you, humble you, and run you through the range of emotions.

If I could solve one problem in MFM it would be…preeclampsia

The best day I ever had as an MFM was…the day I passed my oral MFM boards.

The hardest day I ever had as an MFM was…Christmas Eve 1998, when three patients in clinic came in for anatomic surveys and got diagnoses of severe fetal congenital anomalies. I still think about how they went from coming in for a happy moment in their pregnancy and left in absolute shock and tears.

I might be the only MFM who….has done a thoracotomy, splenectomy, liver repair, and vena cava injury repair on a pig....and it lived. :)

My MFM colleagues would be shocked to know..,I almost went the path of graphic design at Otis, until my mom yelled at me and redirected to pre-med.