Why did you get into health care?

Beth Averbeck, MD; Associate Medical Director for Primary Care, HealthPartners

Both my parents are teachers, so I thought about being a teacher for a while, but I really liked the science and working with people. I think I wanted to be able to make a difference, and so I figured in health care I could teach as part of health care.

In my role as a physician, one-on-one with the patient, that’s part of my role, and then in my role in the organization, it’s kind of like being a systems doctor, so I work on improving care for patients I know and for patients I don’t know, and in partnership with a lot of other people as well. I think most of us went into health care because we liked working with people, we wanted to help make a difference, and we wanted to partner with other people.