Kristopher Carpenter, MD

Medical School

University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago - MD

Residency

Rush University Medical Center

Video

I like to give patients options when they’re available. I’ll give them my medical, professional opinion about which option I think is the best for them and 90 percent of the time, they usually go with that option. And sometimes they’re not able to go with that option. So it’s my job to help the patient navigate through the treatment process, and that includes specialists — subspecialty areas of medicine, as well. I like internal medicine because it allows me to have a broad knowledge of medicine. You have to know something about pretty much every subspecialty to be a good internist — all the way from allergy and immunology up through rheumatology. You even have to know something about surgery. We have to know preoperative risk factors. We have to know how to manage a patient postoperatively. It’s just a great field that encompasses all of medicine. What actually keeps me excited about coming to work to see patients are actually the patients, because they’re excited to come and see me. They’re eager to tell me about what’s new in their lives, what’s new at work, obviously to talk about their healthcare issues. They’re eager to come up with the next plan to help them feel better.