Jerome Minkoff, MD

Bio

Since I arrived in California, in 1974, I always wanted to moved north. Nothing against East LA, but the Los Angeles basin was not my idea of a fun place to live. First, in San Jose and then through Los Altos and Palo Alto, I finally made it north of the golden gate.

I've lived in Santa Rosa since 1985, working in our health plan as both a general internist and an endocrinologist.

I have been teaching at the local residency program and doing clinical research for over 20 years here in Santa Rosa. My participation in regional and national guidelines groups has made my career more interesting and exciting than I could have imagined.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

Although I originally thought I would be a general internist, I was lucky to have several great teachers who were endocrinologists. They showed me how fascinating the body's metabolic processes can be and opened my mind to the world of hormones.
Thyroid, pituitary and other hormonal problems can be subtle or quite obvious. Rarely they are dangerous.

Our specialty is interesting and exciting mostly because our patients are. It's gratifying to see a problem and diagnose why that problem came up. More gratifying, however, is helping people get themselves back into balance.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

My major interest has been osteoporosis and bone metabolism. I have participated in many of Kaiser Permanente's initiatives to improve bone health and prevent fractures. Because of this, we have a state-of-the-art bone density service with excellent evaluation and treatment.

We also developed a Diabetes care program which has been the envy of many other medical centers. Our Nurse Educator and Nutritionist care managers can help our patients with Diabetes attain excellent blood sugar control and prevent complications. Our Diabetes education is second to none and our outcomes have improved markedly.
I continue to teach in the residency program and enjoy working with young doctors and nurses.

I am a member of the American Socirty for Bone and Mineral Research.
I am a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

I am an Associate Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF.

Current projects or research:

Our group participates in many research projects involving Osteoporois and Diabetes.

Along with our other activities, our department is known for our teaching other providers here and throughout the country.

In 2009, I received the TPMG Research and Teaching Award
http://tpmgawards.com

An interesting story from my training:

Sometimes new technology and medication can be expensive and can lead to consternation amongst medical staff. Often these new technologies and medications are used inappropriately, but there are good uses for them.

In 1979 there was 1 CAT scanner in San Jose, where I was in training for medicine. It took a supervising physician to order this very expensive and rare technology. My supervisor was not anxious to get the scan done on an elderly African-American man who came into the emergency room with a delirium. I had learned about this very new technology and I thought it was appropriate for this clinical situation.

The patient was barely arousable and disoriented. He was about to go into the hospital for observation, but I got some extra history from his daughter that he was usually quite active and alert, that he had fallen the week before and had been knocked unconscious. He had woken up and then became disoriented with the delirium we were now seeing.

I ordered the CAT scan after a battle royale with my supervisor and the patient was proven to have a subdural hematoma (as I suspected). Neurosurgical drainage brought him back to his old self - he was a very funny man.

This reminds me to use the tools of medicine for the best clinical effect - and not to overuse newer technologies and medications which have not stood the test of time. It also reminds me to listen to the history and go to bat for my patients even when those around me question my decision.

Interests

Currently reading:
White Noise by Dom Delillo, New Yorker, 40 research grant applications

My favorite book or author:
Favorite novel: Catch 22. Favorite non-fiction: Fabric of Time

Great movie:
Network (again), The Singing Detective (again)

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I am lucky to have a partner who I admire and respect. Most of the time she seems to respect and admire me. We love to travel and talk. Even though she could care less about golf, she encourages my passion, for which I am grateful.

My children and people I care about:

My youngest son, a junior in high school, loves to skateboard and skimboard. His older brother graduated from UC Berkeley and works as a trapeze artist. They both seem to like spinning around and being upside down; I get dizzy standing on a step-stool.

An interesting story about my family or friends:

Lessons learned early: my mom and I were on our way to Los Angeles on a train through Nevada in 1963. I was twelve years old and she wanted to teach me about gambling. She got a roll of nickels and proceeded to lose the them to the one-armed bandit within about 10 minutes. I don't gamble.

Hippopotamuses (or hippopotami) are my favorite animals.

Pet Photos:

hippopotamuses or hippopotami

Travel

An adventure I've had:

In 1974, I finished my first year of medical school in LA, grabbed my tube tent and sleeping bag and borrowed a friend's saddle bags. I put my Itala 10-speed on the train in Union Station and got off in San Luis Obispo. Without training, helmet or toe clips I pedaled north on Route 1. The first day I was so sore I stayed in Cambria until I could walk. The Big Sur coast gave me many a thrill and I managed to make it to San Francisco in a week. I refuse to get near a road bike again.

Favorite place in the world:

If I had to chose between Tuscany and Provence I would have to stay in Italy. If I find a bad wine or bad meal in Italy I will write about it on my Web site.

Florence and the hill towns/cities in central Italy will always call to me. One of the things I love about Sonoma county is its similarity to Tuscany.

One of my recent trips:

On a recent golf junket to Whitehawk I was reminded of the beauty of the Sierras. This high mountain Valley was like heaven. The cameraderie and the competition amongst the golfers made this a special time for me, but the half moon watching us all morning and the wind in the Ponderosa Pines set this trip apart.