Margaret Guo, MD

Bio

I was born in Chicago of immigrant parents. Then, we moved back to Taiwan for 12 years before returning to the United States when I was 14. This experience allows me to be bilingual now.

I went to UC Berkeley for my undergraduate degree in Chemistry. I met my husband there and I got married within one week of college graduation. Then we moved to Baltimore for more education.

I first obtained a PhD in 1995 from the Department of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University. Then I went to SUNY Stony Brook Medical School and obtained my MD degree in 1999. After 3 years of residency in internal medicine at Duke University and Stanford University, I was ready to practice as a Hospitalist. I came to Kaiser Permanente in 2002 after finishing my residency.

Being a Hospitalist is a relatively new specialty of physicians who take care of hospitalized, acutely ill patients. Hospitalists function as primary care physicians for the acutely ill patients in the hospital. I coordinate the care plan with a team of specialists, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, and discharge planners. Being hospitalized and in declining health is frightening to most people. I feel that it is my job to help patients and families understand the diagnosis and prognosis of the illness to the best of my abilities. I enjoy the challenge of helping an ill patient improve and return to his/her previous level of health. Upon discharge, I will convey the information from the hospital to primary care physicians for the continuation of the patient's care.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I didn't dream of becoming a doctor when I was a child. In fact, I went to Medical School with the intention of returning to medical research. However, life pointed me in a different direction. I found that helping patients and families to understand their illness to be very rewarding. Being a Hospitalist allows me to make a large impact on the care of the patient.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

Due to the nature of hospital medicine, I am frequently speaking with patients and their families after a life-altering event such as a stroke or diagnosis of cancer. I feel that it is important to provide patients and families accurate medical information and to assist in making medical decisions which are consistent with the patient's goals.

An interesting story from my training:

During my residency, one of my primary care patients was illiterate and could not take his blood pressure medications correctly. After some urging, I got him to bring in all his pills. I drew his medication instructions with multiple colored pens and shapes to correlate with his pills. It helped our communication a great deal and helped him to take his medications like he was supposed to.

Interests

Hobby Photos & Links:

Mountain Biking 101

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I have been happily married to my husband Alex since I graduated from college. We went through our separate medical training together. He is an avid cyclist and taught me how to bike when I was 20 years old. Now we can bike a century (100 miles) together on our tandem.

My children and people I care about:

My oldest son was born one day before Medical School orientation. He has a black belt in Taekwondo and participates with Odyssey of the Mind. He loves to read. My younger son was born 2 months before internship. He loves math. The youngest is about 10 years younger. He loves playing with his big brothers. Though the older ones resist with all their might my attempts to make them bilingualm the youngest chats happily in both Mandarin and English.

Travel

An adventure I've had:

My first son was born the morning of medical school orientation. His birth marked the beginning of the adventure of first time parenthood combined with medical school. It was quite a challenge. Then my second son was born at the end of medical school. The first 2 years of residency is such a blur that I can hardly remember any details.

Favorite place in the world:

Bryce Canyon is my favorite National Park due to its unique geology. Its rock formations are much more on a personal scale compared to the massive scale of Grand Canyon or nearby Zion National Park. In fact, a poster of Bryce Canyon hangs above my office desk to provide inspiration.

One of my recent trips:

In summer of 2011, we were fortunate to take an Alaska Cruise. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals: bald eagles, jumping salmons, whales and dolphins in the ocean. The glaciers were majestic. It is sad to see how quickly they are melting in the climate change.

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

Bryce Canyon

Trip Photos:

Exit Glacier, Seward, AK