As seen in Top Doctors in Nashville, July 2014
At Dr. Mary Romano's house, there's never any doubt as to what season it is. She takes seasonal displays to a new level.
'I'm freakishly obsessed with decorating for the holidays,” explains Romano. 'My mom always was, and my two sisters are the same way. It's in our blood.”
What also seems to be in the sisters' blood is a professional interest in children's health. While Romano is in adolescent medicine at Vanderbilt, her sisters are also both in pediatrics. In addition, they're all mothers. 'We all either have children or are in the process of having them,” says Romano. 'Since I have a young daughter, my work stays with me. It really hits home when I see a young patient who has had a random accident or contracted an unpreventable disease.”
It was her rotation in adolescent medicine in medical school that set Romano down her professional path. 'I loved the rotation and especially the opportunity for preventive health and education,” she says. 'I think adolescents are often misrepresented. They can be a great patient population.”
Romano is hyper aware of the messages that barrage adolescents. She says she knows all too well the decisions adolescents make, the issues they face, and the pressures they're under. Although her daughter is young, Romano hopes to minimize the risks by keeping an open line of communication with her. Such lines of communication must be in Romano's Long Island family DNA. Romano describes family gatherings as full of positive energy.
'My sisters and my husband keep me grounded, and although my sisters and I are all in the same field, we intentionally don't talk shop,” she says. 'It's important to get away.”