I grew up in a medical family, now comprised of 6 physicians, 1 nurse, and an aunt who was an obstetrician-gynecologist. I was always drawn to medicine. Part of me always wanted to be a physician; not a day has passed that I have not been thrilled to have selected the field of obstetrics and gynecology. But in the last ten years, I have fallen into a second full-time career: one of television medical correspondent. It was not something I had ever planned to do; it found me much like a meteor lands randomly. I now share my time equally between my private clinical practice and what I do for national television media; although the mechanics of the two careers differ greatly, the intrinsic nature of television and direct patient care is one and the same: the communication of medical information.

As the Chief Women’s Health Correspondent for ABC News network, I appear on “Good Morning America” several times a week and provide content to their other television, radio, and digital platforms. Seen and heard by millions of people, I am asked to explain the medical story du jour (whether it is pegged to a celebrity, a recent study, or a natural disaster) in 60-120 seconds on live national television. Hours of work with experienced producers and writers go into each segment: constructing graphics and animation to highlight and explain medical concepts and choosing the correct language for segments that will involve the anchors. With as little as sixty seconds of air time, every word matters; although a variety of news topics are covered on television (which range from politics to weather, sports, finance, and pop culture), health and medicine tends to rank at the top in terms of viewer and listener interest. Everyone cares about health stories; medical news potentially affects everyone.

But how does an obstetrician-gynecologist cover non–women’s health topics? The same way we deal with non–obstetrics-gynecology topics in our clinical practices. I research the latest medical literature on the subject and then speak to experts in the field. In addition, a significant percentage of medical stories that make national media coverage involve obstetrics-gynecology issues or issues that fall under the primary care umbrella that our field treats. Also, at both ABC News and “The Doctors” (an Emmy-award winning daytime TV show for which I am a co-host), we have excellent teams of producers with special medical media experience who help us vet stories and contact experts. We have access that allows us to get directly to the source of any breaking medical story.

Despite nearly a decade of experience in media, I still view myself solely as a physician. I am a doctor, first and foremost; as such, I am trained to analyze information, interpret data, and weigh risks vs benefits as I counsel patients. I believe that there is a powerful need for this in the field of journalism today; it is the personal and professional interpretation of news that sets medical/physician journalists apart from other network correspondents. I believe it is the reason that every major news network in the United States has medical doctors as part of their news teams. Medical news is different from other news by its very nature. It requires interpretation, and it benefits from clinical perspective. It is insufficient to simply report the facts. People want to know how the news affects them, and many people may change their behavior based on what they hear or see on television. Words matter. Facts matter. And sensitivity matters. In addition, people do not need to watch television or listen to radio to get their news today. So if the public is watching television to learn about a medical story, I think they deserve and desire something extra. That something extra is analysis, perspective, and judgment. Journalists try to be objective and neutral, but physicians cannot really be truly neutral. As physicians, I believe that we are vested personally in the lives of our patients. We deal with life and death on a regular basis, and I do not believe we can be “neutral” with someone’s life. As of the few physicians with a national media platform who still maintains an active medical practice, I look into a television camera the same way I look into my patients’ eyes, with the goal of informing, empowering, and comforting.

So how then do I communicate this information in a way that honors both fields of medicine and journalism? I consider these objectives to be one and the same. What I do on-air is exactly the same as what I do in my office; I use a template of covering the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the medical news, then I present the risks, the benefits, and the alternatives of the issue. Depending on the nature of the story, I also try to raise questions about what is not known yet or what may be coming in the future. When asked for my professional opinion, I provide it; when I do not know the answer to a question, I say so. My goal is to help viewers and listeners learn to think like a doctor more than it is to present superficial facts or statistics. It all comes down to clear communication, which is always a paramount goal in medicine. The use of sophisticated medical terms to a lay-audience risks losing the message, and this is true whether I am on television or in my medical office.

But what about the delicate or sensitive stories in medical news that involve public figures or celebrities? My credo on television is never to speak directly about an individual, unless in a positive way, to protect their patient privacy rights. I respect the fact that there is an actual person whose medical crisis is making national news, and I do not speak about that individual specifically but rather about their condition generally. Fortunately, celebrity-driven health stories are incredibly effective in bringing public awareness to medical issues.

I feel privileged to have the role I have in medical media in the United States and feel fortunate to be able to represent the field of obstetrics and gynecology on the national level. Any chance we have to help advance Women’s Health is a win for our specialty in medicine, and it is a win for women. As I am proud to say when people ask about my two careers, “I speak woman, and I speak doctor.”