Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Summer Bochat, one of the physicians on staff with Evanston Podiatric Surgeons. With her busy schedule, it is hard to find the time but I am so glad that we were able to talk.
Dr. Bochat graduated from University of Wisconsin – Parkside. Her studies were geared for her to meet her goal of going into medicine. She is very friendly and interested in helping people. It was easy to see that she really enjoys her daily interactions.
She grew up in Wisconsin. (As we say here in Illinois, she grew up behind the cheddar curtain.) Her family and community are very important to her. She and her husband were married in the same church where 4 generations of her family were married. Those are strong roots.
We talked about her path through school. When she was finishing at Parkside, she took the test for medical school and did very well on the test. She then needed to decide what she was going to do as her next step. After much discussion, she decided that she would talk to the people at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine about their curriculum and residency. At the interview, they were so impressed with her background and scores that they offered her a spot in the school immediately. She was also impressed with the school so she enrolled. She found her classes very interesting and the practical training invaluable. She was able to do a three year medical and surgical residency at Thorek Memorial Hospital in Chicago and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
One of the things that she likes best about podiatrics is that she can help the patient from when they first come to the office through their entire treatment. She feels that being able to help someone completely by herself without having to refer them to a surgeon is the best part of her practice.
Dr. Bochat met Dr. Hussain while she was doing her residency. She did one of her rotations with him and was very impressed with the staff and attitude in the office. She likes that the office stresses friendliness and efficiency. It all makes her interactions with the patients more pleasant. “It is so much easier to come into the office and know that my patients will be treated well and I will be able to take care of them with help from the staff. “
One of the reasons that she likes working in the Chicago area is that patients know to go to a podiatrist when they have foot problems. She said that in other areas that is not the case and that the patient will start with their primary care physician. This will delay the time it takes for a patient to feel better. When patients come directly to the podiatrist they will often be on the road to recovery before they could have even been seen by their primary care doctor.
When Dr. Bochat is not in the office, she is seeing patients at one of the area hospitals, wound care centers or nursing homes. She travels quite a bit but loves seeing all the people.
Dr. Bochat does still live “behind the cheddar curtain”. She lives with her husband, a music educator, her wonderful daughter and three lively pugs.
My impression is that Dr. Bochat is the kind of doctor that we all want. She is friendly, smart, and dedicated. She is really interested in her patients and their well-being. What more can you ask for?
Your pal,
Foot Blogger Chick
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to send them to footbloggerchick@gmail.com or leave them in the comment section below. I am not a doctor but I check with one before answering questions.
Trivia Question of the week – Who referred to the foot as “a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”
Find the answer on our Facebook page – Evanston PodiatricSurgeons – on Friday, March 29. While you’re there, please take a moment to “like” us.
Or
Follow us on twitter – @EvPodiatric and the answer will be tweeted on Friday morning as well.