Trustee's Daughters Keep Medicine in the Family

Three generations of Pamela Propeck’s family have worked in medical professions. But one of her daughters nearly chose another path.

Dr. Propeck, an ABR Trustee and a University of Wisconsin Health radiologist and professor in the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, grew up with a father, Stephen Propeck, MD, who was a surgeon. She knew the ups and downs of working in medicine but never tried to influence her children.

“If I talked to them about it, they probably would’ve run the other way,” Dr. Propeck said. “They knew what I did, but I didn’t ever say, ‘This is what you need to do.’”

*Pamela Propeck, MD (left), and her daughter, Erika Wood, MD, at last year’s Society of Breast Imaging Annual Meeting.*

Eventually, her three daughters followed the family path: One, Ingrid Wood, is a physician assistant in rheumatology and another, Kristin Borovsky, MD, is a pediatric gastroenterologist. The third, Erika Wood, MD, was the only one to pick diagnostic radiology. She will complete her residency at UCLA Health next June.

She first considered other options.

“I wasn’t always certain I would go into medicine,” Dr. Wood said. “I explored a lot of other interests. I majored in economics and took language and government classes, but I continued taking pre-med courses because I loved science and wasn’t ready to close that door.”

Dr. Propeck believes that family history played a role in Dr. Wood’s decision, even though becoming a physician was never pushed on any of her three daughters.

“She spent a lot of time exploring other avenues, but I think we’re just drawn to it,” Dr. Propeck said. “It probably was partially the way I was raised, and then I probably emulated some of that with my kids because my father didn’t push (becoming a physician) either. You just saw it in that person, you saw what was important to them, and you obviously liked that on some level.”

From an early age, Dr. Wood knew her mother was a physician. As a diagnostic radiologist, Dr. Propeck’s job was different from doctors in many other specialties.

“Even though she was my mom, it took me a while to really understand what her day-to-day work as a radiologist looked like,” Dr. Wood said.

Once she was sold on becoming a physician, Dr. Wood followed her mother’s footsteps and chose breast imaging. UCLA was at the top of her list for training. Relocating to Los Angeles for training wasn’t an intimidating move. She earned her undergraduate degree at Cornell and lived in New York City for a couple of years before getting her medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

“I’ve always gravitated toward bigger cities, and I wanted to train at a large academic medical center where I would see a broad range of cases and have a lot of opportunities,” she said. “UCLA is also a major research powerhouse.”

Among her children, Dr. Propeck said Dr. Wood is the most eager to travel. On a recent trip to Spain, her daughter’s language skills were a bonus, the result of Dr. Wood spending several months in the country when she was in high school.

“Since she lived there and is pretty fluent in Spanish, it’s very easy for us to get around,” Dr. Propeck said. “I could not do this on my own. When we want to go to nice restaurants, she tells me to stand behind her, and she will flutter away in Spanish to the hostess and we get a table. I know darn well if it had been me, we would not be getting a table.”

Along with their trips, the two occasionally see each other professionally. Dr. Propeck was in the audience last year when Dr. Wood made a presentation at the Society of Breast Imaging Annual Symposium in Colorado Springs. It was one of the rare times they were in the same meeting room.

“We’ll usually share a hotel room, but then we separate because we have very different interests,” Dr. Wood said. “Sometimes we won’t see each other for a long time during the meeting itself, but we always connect at the end of the day.”

Having her daughters get involved in medicine was never a priority. Dr. Propeck is just happy that Dr. Wood and her other daughters find satisfaction in what they do.

“I’m really proud of her,” Dr. Propeck said. “She’s worked really hard to get where she is. I’m happy that my kids have found things that they are passionate about and that they’re able to enjoy because that really gives you satisfaction as a parent.”