Primary provider
Dr. Dhruv Bansal is one of the most recent additions at Saint Anthony’s Health Center, joining Saint Anthony’s Physician Group as an internist in August.
Beginning medical school at the age of 16 after skipping grades in his early primary years, Bansal describes himself as a thinker and problem solver.
That’s one of the things that steered him toward internal medicine instead of surgery.
“I thought internal medicine suited me better because I like thinking through and working out problems, then trying to solve them,” Bansal said.
Treating patients 18 and older, he looks forward to establishing family relationships with patients, growing his practice to include multiple generations.
Bansal earned his medical degree at Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. In Chicago, he studied public health, with an emphasis on insurance and policy development, an area that piqued his interest because of the direct impact it can have on patient care. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque before moving to the Midwest in early August.
Bansal’s aunt lives in Milwaukee and he knew he also wanted to come to the United States because he admires the country’s way of practicing medicine and feels the health infrastructure of the country is beyond compare.
Now 28, Bansal said he plans to marry and have children someday, but right now he’s concentrating on his ultimate goal – to be the best doctor possible.
“There’s always a high demand for good primary care providers,” Bansal said. “I hope to help fill that need.”
“There’s such a broad spectrum of care, particularly in internal medicine. It takes constant reading and lifelong learning to keep abreast of the ever-changing medical field,” he said.
“I spend time every single day with medical journals and online – learning more,” Bansal said. “Internal medicine is so vast. Thirty years from now, I’ll still be learning.”
In general, he said, the two biggest factors that affect health are obesity and smoking.
“Weight loss is so important. Obesity affects everything from cholesterol to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. And smoking plays a role in many problems, especially in connection to numerous types of cancer,” he said. “If people maintain a proper weight and stop smoking, it takes care of many common health problems.
“I personally work at staying fit because I know – as a doctor – just how important it is, and I want to set a good example for my patients of all ages,” Bansal said.
He tends to be an outdoorsy type, spending much of his free time cycling, hiking, running and swimming. He played basketball in school and still likes to hit the court when he gets the chance.
Bansal has several family members who are also in the medical field. One brother is a resident in Columbia, Mo.; several uncles are doctors. His parents are business owners in India.
Read more: http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/bansal-60430-medical-medicine.html#ixzz1aqpNAJXA
