Caroline Greenidge, MD

For Dr. Caroline Greenidge, it's all about family. So, when it came to deciding on a specialty, Family Medicine was a natural choice. "I decided on a career in medicine in elementary school," she reflects. "I come from a long line of nurses, and I spent the summers of my early childhood shadowing the 'porter' at a rural clinic where my mother worked as a nurse and, later on, as a nurse practitioner."

It's that sense of family, and her experience with the hospital's clinicians, employees and volunteers, that brought her to Beacon. "They provide service from the heart," she says. "I chose Beacon because of the people." She also keeps this sentiment top of mind when her patients ask her, "What would you do if this was your mother or loved one?" Because, at the heart of it all, people look to their doctors for a human connection ­– someone who hears them and understands what they're going through.

"Patients want their physician to listen to them and know their story." Dr. Greenidge explains. "My primary duty is to listen to my patients, my colleagues and my co-workers. It's in listening that I learn, both about the problem and the solution."

Dr. Greenidge also sees education as a critical component of her practice and takes the time to help all her patients understand how to take the best possible care of themselves. "My philosophy is, it's better to teach a man to fish than to give a man a fish." By teaching self-care, she provides her patients with the tools they need to take an active role in their own health and well-being. It is the one thing she hopes they will learn from her and about her, "Love yourself and others by caring for yourself and others."

In her own words:

Who is the most influential person/role model in your life? My mother, a nurse, nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, nurse administrator and entrepreneur, who served in the rural mountains of Jamaica, West Indies. Then, after migrating to the United States of America, she served as a nursing supervisor in the urban city of Jamaica, NY, partnering with other clinicians to start and run a home health care agency in New York City.

What was your first job growing up? I remember many chores growing up as a child: scrubbing my grandmother's floor with a coconut brush, bringing water from a nearby river to home for washing and bathing, harvesting the various crops and caring for the animals on my father's farm, watering the plants in my mother's garden at home and, of course, the usual dishes, laundry, meal preparation and house cleaning.

What do you remember most about it? I remember the sense of accomplishment and relief when the task was completed.

What is your favorite food? General Tso's Tofu.

Favorite Movie? Marvel's Black Panther.

Growing up, what were your best and worst subjects in school? English was my best subject. Chemistry was the worst.

If you could sit down to dinner with anyone (alive or deceased) who would it be and why? My mother, so I can thank her for the sacrifices that she made on my behalf and apologize for being a "brat."

In addition to medicine, what are you most passionate about? My family.

Do you have any hobbies? What interests you most? I love gardening, sewing and decorating. My main area of interest is nutrition in health and disease.

What is something most people don't know about you? I love to write songs based on biblical verses.