Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Greg Cohen.
Dr. Cohen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am originally from Potomac, Maryland. I attended Cornell University for undergraduate, then headed to the University of Maryland for medical school. I moved to Chicago in 1998 for my residency in internal medicine at Northwestern. During my residency I met my wife, who is from Chicago (and is the reason I stayed in Chicago). I always liked gastroenterology because I felt that the GIs I met were smart and had good senses of humor. I applied for GI fellowships and was very happy to accept a 4 year combined clinical and research GI fellowship under an NIH training grant at the University of Chicago. When my fellowship was completed I was faced with the decision between joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, and going out on my own. This was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, but ultimately I decided to step outside my comfort zone and start a solo GI practice at Northwestern in 2005. Since then, I have never looked back.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting out as a young doctor, I had virtually no experience in running a small business. I do come from a family of business people and I found myself drawing from my childhood dinner table conversations frequently. In the first few years of my practice, I can’t imagine how many mistakes I made as a businessman, but the joy of being able to practice medicine exactly the way I wanted made it all worth it. Running the business was very much a gradual evolution involving a process of trial and error until things were running the way I wanted. I did have excellent resources available as there were multiple other solo gastroenterologists practicing at Northwestern at that time.
Please tell us about Greg S. Cohen, MD.
I practice general gastroenterology with a special focus on Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, as well as non-surgical treatment of hemorrhoids. I am an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Northwestern University, and a fellow of both the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological Association. I am actively involved in teaching medical students as well as GI fellows, and have received multiple teaching awards from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I have published multiple papers and also serve as a peer reviewer.
I am most proud of the fact that every aspect of my business has been set up with the singular goal of allowing me to take care of my patients the way I would want any doctor to care for my loved ones. Appointments are as long as they need to be. Phone calls and electronic messages to me are always returned by me, and usually within a few hours.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is when I got to hug a monkey on a beach in Mexico while on a family vacation. I have always been an animal lover and actually wanted to be a veterinarian when I was growing up.
Contact Info:
- Address: 201 E Huron St
Galter Pavilion Suite 11-205
Chicago, IL 60611 - Website: www.cohengastro.com
- Phone: 312-695-4452
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