We recently connected with Drs. Brittany Grovey and Gemayel Lee, a husband and wife physician team practicing pain management in San Diego and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany and Gemayel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.
Brittany:
We completed our fellowship on the tail end of the opiate epidemic, when the medical field was beginning to come to terms with the devastating consequences of opioid overprescribing. These medications were still widely used in the community, but our education was focused on using scientific and multimodal approaches to optimize mental and physical health and well-being, and incorporate evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to identify the source of the pain and reduce it for a prolonged period of time, reducing the need for chronic opiate therapy.
Gemayel:
In our training, we were fascinated by the field of neuromodulation. Simply put, the idea that for some conditions, we could find the nerves that are sending the pain signal and “talk to them” to turn the pain down. We believed that “talking to nerves is the future of pain management,” and it was really fun too, like video games; but with the goal of improving physical function and quality of life instead of freeing the Princess from King Koopa.
When we initially developed the philosophy of our practice, we spent many months researching the most evidenced-based approaches to address common conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, knee and shoulder pain. After spending countless hours creating diagrams, algorithms and different workflows, we noticed a repetitive theme that seemed to confirm what our grandmothers always told us. We essentially need to go play outside, eat our fruits and vegetables, and get a good night’s sleep (They were on to something). In addition to low impact aerobic activity, eating a balanced diet and improving sleep hygiene, we also encourage all of our patients to see some smiling faces and to cultivate purpose in life. In our experience, (which is minimal since we were only born in the 80s) we tend to live better when we can balance all of these things well.
Brittany:
In many ways, the mission, vision and values of our practice were created in response to the opioid epidemic and the quest for effective solutions to alleviate chronic pain, suffering and disability. We aim to advance the science and practice of medicine by utilizing cutting-edge therapies such as neuromodulation to help our patients Relieve – talk to nerves to reduce pain, Revive – go run around and play outside, and ReLive – see smiling faces and cultivate our purpose.
Gemayel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Gemayel:
We are a team of nerds that like to use the latest science and technology to help patients explore life beyond pain. In our anesthesiology and pain management training, Brittany and I have spent countless hours utilizing the latest techniques, and specialize in using xray and ultrasound imaging to find painful structures and interrupt the pain pathways, and developing comprehensive treatment plans to help patients revive the painful area and relive their best life. For many of us, chronic pain can be stressful, frustrating, depressing and lead to limited physical activity, social isolation and a negative quality of life. Our team is highly professional, compassionate and a little bit quirky with tattoos, piercings and dyed hair. We pride ourselves on patient comfort and aim to create many positive vibes and experiences. Chronic pain is a complex and challenging disease that many of us may experience. Successfully treating pain is intellectually stimulating and extremely fulfilling when we succeed. Chronic pain can also be incredibly humbling, and we always strive to optimize how our patients can relive, even though sometimes we may struggle to relieve. Whether we are providing surgery or support, coaching or consultation, we cherish the many important roles we have in our patients’ lives.
Brittany:
Our staff are native San Diegans. Our doctors completed their anesthesiology residency and interventional pain management fellowship training at UCSD Center for Pain Medicine, one of the leading training programs in the country. We are a grassroots, local, San Diego medical practice that strives to advance the science and practice of medicine and help patients explore life beyond pain. We try to advance science with research and innovative treatments like peripheral nerve stimulation. Dr. Lee is an expert and national leader in peripheral nerve stimulation. We advance the practice of medicine with Chic-Fil-A type service in a compassionate patient-centered model of care.
Gemayel:
In addition, Dr. Grovey is actively involved in research and service to reduce health inequities and improve patient access to advanced pain care. She serves as co-Chair of the Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee for the Pacific Spine and Pain Society and is a member on the Board of Directors.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Gemayel:
Chronic pain is a complex and challenging process that some of us may experience. Often our patients will seek help during critical moments and we honor and appreciate the unique roles we get to play in their lives. Fortunately we have had many successes to learn from, and we have learned from our challenges as well. Most importantly, we have learned from our patients, their families, and each other. We believe teamwork makes the dreamwork, and we are all in this together.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Brittany:
I’ll take this one! Gemayel and I met the weekend before medical school, at an ice breaker camping trip of sorts, and we’ve essentially grown up in medicine together.
In going through medical school, anesthesiology residency, pain fellowship, job searching, and now building a private practice, I’ve had the opportunity to meet different parts of him over the years as he integrated who is as a person with the physician he strove to become and the clinic he dreamed of creating.
When I met Gemayel in medical school, he was known as an incredibly intelligent, relatable, and fun-loving person who always tried to maximize the enjoyment of life. In internship, I met Dr. Lee and his commitment to supporting patients to make healthier life choices when I saw him sit in the “smoking area” of the hospital with a patient who had recently had a heart attack to discuss the health consequences of smoking and to explain the importance of the next steps in the patient’s treatment plan. During anesthesiology residency, I met his thoughtful demeanor and uncanny ability to apply scientific, physiologic, and pharmacologic principles to real world situations. It was a running joke how he was always so calm and efficient in the most challenging cases, including having to emergently place a patient on cardiopulmonary bypass unexpectedly during a case. In our practice, Relive You, I’ve gotten to meet him all over again as his approach to the practice is reflective of his experiences and values. Patients can feel, and frequently comment on the culture of the practice: the commitment to truly supporting them on their journey to accomplish their goals and enjoy life, the empathy of the team to meet each person where they are, and the emphasis on education to explain the “whys” and the “hows.”
Our partnership has been successful over the years not just because we have common goals, but because through our partnership, I’ve “met” him many times over as a person, and trust the processes that he uses to achieve those goals. The ability to trust these processes creates a foundation that has provided guidance as we’ve faced the inevitable challenges of business ownership.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.relive-you.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReliveYouSD
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/relive-you-center-for-advanced-pain-management
Image Credits
Sadre Scott