Dr. Michelle Drobny, DO.I completed my undergraduate training at Washington State University where I majored in Biology and double minored in Spanish and Psychology. I loved my experience at WSU, I was in a sorority and involved in multiple community service projects, worked with the Cougar Leadership Program running leadership workshops, and spent a summer in Japan working with children living on a military base. I even climbed Mt. Fuji!
After college, I went to medical school at Western University of Health Sciences at their new campus in Lebanon, Oregon. I chose this medical school because of its focus on serving underserved communities and priority on family medicine. They promoted a collaborative problem-solving style of learning and promotion of wellbeing. While completing my medical training I was the Vice President of the Women’s Health Club. I received a scholarship to be a Scaife Medical Student Fellow at the Rutgers Institute of Addiction Studies which is what started my interest and experience with addiction medicine. Also, I did an international rotation on a mission trip to Peru, where I worked with a pediatrician providing care to children in the mountain regions outside of Cusco. This experience changed my life, I have always valued travel and learning about other cultures. This contributed to my residency choice, I completed my family medicine residency with the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority providing healthcare to Native Americans in Pierce County, Washington.
My residency training was rigorous in inpatient medicine and pediatrics but also with a strong focus on osteopathy and the connection between mind, body, and spirit. Part of my training involved a 6-week rotation in Dillingham, Alaska which was another amazing experience. This rotation involved working at a rural Alaskan hospital (only accessible by plane or boat) with family physicians doing everything from medical evacuations from nearby villages, delivering babies, to running the emergency room. This experience showed me that family physicians really can practice what is called “full scope medicine” and with enough training can provide comprehensive care for people of all ages with a variety of disease processes.
I continue to learn and grow as a physician in Spokane, WA where I work for the Spokane Teaching Health Clinic. I mainly spend time teaching and overseeing physicians doing their family medicine residency while also seeing my own small panel of patients. I practice a full range of medicine providing care to all ages, doing a variety of procedures, and practicing inpatient medicine.