This April, Dr. Nour Baki, director of the Women’s Epilepsy Clinic at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, will be celebrating her second year practicing at Beaumont.
In those two years, Dr. Baki has already made an indelible impact on the neurology team and numerous patients and families.
“My interest in neurology began as a resident. I ended up seeing a lot of epilepsy cases and that really sparked my interest,” explains Dr. Baki. “There have been so many advances in the treatment of epilepsy over the past decade. That’s very exciting to me.”
That excitement led Dr. Baki to identify the need for and help open the Beaumont Women’s Epilepsy Clinic. The goal of the new clinic is to provide women with epilepsy more frequent follow-up care during their pregnancy.
More importantly, Dr. Baki says, “There are a lot of misconceptions out there, specifically that women can’t have children because of their epilepsy. Clearing up these things can be life-changing and it’s such a pleasure to see our patients
get excited about it.”
Dealing with diagnoses and treatments that have such life-altering implications requires a high degree of sensitivity and a lot of listening. Both things Dr. Baki’s patients have been extremely complimentary of.
“She listens” and “very approachable” are both common phrases found in her reviews by patients.
Dr. Baki says that making a connection with a patient begins with getting to know them on a personal level. “As with any first encounters with another human being, sometimes the connection is instant and other times, it takes more time to build
a relationship and that's okay. Those of us who have kids know that you can't raise your kids with the same method because they each have different personalities - I feel it's the same with my patients.”
It’s important for Dr. Baki that the communication is mutual and that her patients have just as much say in their care as she does. To achieve that level of trust, she presents all the information in a way that’s easy to understand, so that
they can collectively make a sound decision on treatment together.
“At times, doctors can be too focused on fixing things, that we forget to ask important questions,” Dr. Baki says. “Is the patient happy? Does the patient have a good quality of life? If a medication can cause bothersome side effects
that impact quality of life, to me, that’s not always a successful treatment.”
Wanting to help people get better has been at the core of what Dr. Baki wanted to do since the idea of becoming doctor came to her in elementary school. Now that she’s achieved her career ambition, Dr. Baki’s mission work continues to connect
her with what it truly means to be a doctor. “It allows me to appreciate the patient-doctor relationship more. It’s just me and the patient.”
Whether she’s practicing overseas or at the clinic in Royal Oak, Dr. Baki remains motivated by her faith every day. “It helps me find a greater purpose in what I’m doing and helps me stay focused on that.”