Currently: Attending physician at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Specialty interests (professional):
Traumatic Brain Injury
Headache Medicine
Musculoskeletal Medicine
Amputee Care

Residency: Stanford University, PM&R

Medical School: Western University of Health Sciences

Undergraduate: University of California, Santa Barbara

Wife, Daughter, Sister, "Dog Mom," Woman in Medicine, member of LGBT community

In school I always enjoyed and excelled in health science subjects--anatomy, physiology, biology, psychology. From a philosophical perspective, medicine always seemed to me the one of the best ways to make a positive difference in the lives of people around you.

The transition from medical student to intern year was difficult. It was a big jump in level of independence, responsibility, and complexity of patient care. There were times I worried I didn't have what it takes to be a physician. What I found most helpful was having a strong connection to my fellow interns, residents, and mentors for support. I realized we all had the same feelings and were able to support each other through the hard times. Everyone has bad days, but not everyone is going to have the same bad day. Sometimes you'll need extra support, other times you'll be called upon to give extra support to those around you.

PM&R is a unique field in that it does not focus on a specific organ system but rather the concept of "function," meaning how effectively you are able to navigate your home/community/cultural/socioeconomic environment to achieve independence and a meaningful life. Barriers such as bias, prejudice, poverty are often front and center for us when trying help our patients achieve their goals. There is no one medication or intervention that can address these barriers. It requires creative thinking, collaboration, and advocacy to make change.

I am very much a general physiatrist. I like to be involved in a lot of different subspecialties of PM&R, e.g., P&O, TBI, pain, musculoskeletal medicine. I also like to have a mix of clinical work, teaching, research, and program development in my practice. For now this works well for me.

For the field of PM&R, I hope it continues to grow as a specialty and touch the lives of more people. It has a lot to offer!

Unfortunately, I'm not great with social media.

Editor’s note: If you have a specific question for Dr. Timmerman, you can reach out to her by contacting any of the Stanford residents on our leadership team. She is a wonderful resource and research mentor. We hope to feature research opportunities with her in the future.