Transcription:
Get to Know FCMC Physicians: Dr. Justin Parkinson, MD

Prakash Chandran: Hello there. This is the Franklin County Medical Center podcast. I'm your host, Prakash Chandran. And today, we are getting to know Dr. Justin Parkinson. Dr. Parkinson, I'm super excited to have you here today. You know, so often, we get helped by our doctors, but very rarely do we get the chance to sit down and get to know them a little bit. So I'm really excited for this. Thank you so much for being here.

Justin Parkinson, MD: Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to let you know a little bit more about me as well.

Prakash Chandran: I'd love to get started by just asking how exactly did you get your start in medicine and what really drove you to become a medical doctor?

Justin Parkinson, MD: Yeah, that's interesting. I have a great, great grandfather who was a regular primary care doctor in Logan, Utah, which is just south of where we're at here in Franklin County. And one of the things he left to my grandfather was his old medicine bag. And as a kid, I would remember going to my grandpa's house. And when I go to grandpa's house, one of the things I was just always fascinated with was this little black bag and all the tools that were in this little black bag and all the little remedies that were in this little black bag. And so, I kind of started to develop an interest in kind of what kind of a profession someone is in that kind of allows them into people's lives a little bit more personally utilizing the tools of the trade, so to speak.

And so, as I kind of went through college, I knew I was interested in the sciences. But as I kind of kept going through with the sciences, I also understood that probably working in a lab somewhere was not going to be the right fit for me because I liked interacting with people a little too much. Eventually through a process of volunteering in some free clinics and volunteering in some emergency rooms and kind of doing the things that needed to be done to get a sense for what it would be like to be a physician, I made the decision that, "Yeah, I think this is the path I want to take." So it started at a very young age, just being intrigued by this medicine bag and then kind of utilizing the skillset that I had when it comes to kind of being okay in the sciences to move forward.

Prakash Chandran: That's so interesting to me because, as a new father myself, they always talk about giving your children exposure to things. And it's just so interesting that this little black medicine bag sparked your imagination and then kind of set you off on this journey to become a medical doctor. So, I guess my next question is around like do you have a specific specialty that you specialize in? And if so, why did you choose that specialty?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So I am a urologist. The way I kind of landed on the urology specialty was as I was going to medical school, in your third and fourth year of medical school, you start doing clinical rotations. And the first clinical rotation I had was in urology. I knew I wanted to be a surgeon and I was debating between plastic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, urology, and orthopedics. My first rotation was with urology and the residents that I met when I was rotating on the urology service had a very similar personality to me and it felt like I just really fit with that group. And so, actually my first rotation in my third year, I knew what I wanted to do. And again, that was mostly because of a people connection, even more so than a specialty connection. I connected with the people in urology, and that's what led me down this path.

Prakash Chandran: I'd love to unpack that a little bit. When you say the people connection, like what type of person does urology and what kind of resonated with you about that personality type?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So one of the things that I was told, like my second day on my rotation by one of the senior residents was, "If you want to do urology, you can take your job seriously, but you better not take yourself too seriously," because you'll be the butt of most of the medicine jokes when you're a urologist. And so, it was that kind of a little bit more of a kind of a lighthearted approach to life, still taking what you do very seriously and kind of being very serious about what you do when you're kind of offering care for patients, but allowing your personality as far as maybe being a little bit more lighthearted to come through was the part that connected me to it.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, that makes so much sense, especially in like a field like urology, where, you know, sometimes it's a sensitive topic for people and being able to access a doctor or care that has a lighthearted approach to it, I imagine your patients find very reassuring, wouldn't you say?

Justin Parkinson, MD: Yeah, and I think when you're in a specialty where you have a fair amount of things that you're talking about that tend to be things that people don't like to talk about. If you can connect with someone with just a little bit of humor or you can connect with someone with just a little bit of a less serious approach and you can make them understand that the problem they have is a problem that's shared by many people and that we have solutions to those problems, I think it's very helpful. I think there are certain specialties in medicine where it's really hard to figure out how you would interject any sense of lightheartedness. But in urology, there's a lot of opportunities to do that in a way that hopes to connect with the patient better so that you can have that relationship moving forward because you're talking about things that are personal to them, right? And maybe you get that with every doctor experience you get, but when you're coming to see someone specifically because you leak urine when you cough, laugh and sneeze, or you're coming to see someone specifically because maybe you're having some concerns with your relationship and being able to perform in the relationship, those are a little bit more personal things to talk about. And so, I like to be able to make sure I have a good connection with the patient. And I really do think urology lends itself well to kind of that exposure and that kind of an experience.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, that makes a ton of sense to me. I'd love to maybe talk a little bit about who you are as a person on your days off, your family life, whatever you want to share there. So, maybe just talk a little bit about on your days off, where do you like to spend your time? Tell us if you have a family, anything you want to share.

Justin Parkinson, MD: Sure. So, my wife and I got married essentially right after high school. We were high school sweethearts, so my wife and I have been together for the last 27 years now. We have three boys. They're all grown up. They're all adults now, and they're doing that thing they like to call adulting these days. My oldest got his degree in geology, but now works in finance. My middle one wanted to do finance from the beginning. He's going to get his degree in economics in December. And my youngest one might want to go into dental school. But two of the three of them are married. They're kind of grown up, they're out of the house.

We spent the last 20 years of our career in Salt Lake City, and so we were in a major metropolitan area practicing medicine where it gets really busy. And so, one of the reasons we find ourselves at Franklin County Medical Center was I was starting to lose touch of those things I like to do on my days off, because I don't know if I had any days off. So now, that we're kind of someplace where we can get a little bit better balance in life, we like to be outside. We have a boat. We love to go boating. We love to surf behind our boat. Anything that's basically outdoors, whether it's golf, whether it's boating, going on a hike, those are the kind of things that we like to do. And quite frankly, Franklin County, Idaho is a great place to do those things.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. That's amazing. Just kind of that outdoor life. And you explain to me, when you say you like surfing behind a boat, is that air foil or is that skiing? What exactly is that?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So, it's called wake surfing, and you have to have a specific boat to wake surf. But the boat actually makes a big enough wake that on a surfboard, which is much shorter than a surfboard, you would surf on the ocean, but you can get onto that surf, onto that wake, you can let go of the rope and you can just surf the wake as the boat goes down the lake.

Prakash Chandran: I love that. That's so cool.

Justin Parkinson, MD: It's really a lot of fun.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, I remember I tried wakeboarding once, and once I actually got up, I completely fell in love with it, so I can definitely see how it's an addictive thing.

Justin Parkinson, MD: It's like wakeboarding, but it doesn't hurt when you crash. We used to almost exclusively wakeboard, but there were a couple of times we took a spill and I kind of had to ask, "I wonder if I'm facing up or facing down in the water right now." When you switch to surfing, surfing's done at 10 miles an hour instead of 20 miles an hour. So when you crash surfing, you just pop back up and you're ready to go again.

Prakash Chandran: So, you know, one of the things that I mentioned is that patients come in, they see you, obviously you have a very lighthearted nature, I can tell that in our conversation. But what do you feel like is an interesting fact that people might not know about you?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So, one of the things that kind of professionally, at least, is that we can offer everything here that you can get in a bigger city, and the things that we don't do here, such as prostate surgery for prostate cancer. Because I come from Salt Lake, I have connections to get people in to see whoever they need to see. And so, we offer the full gamut of urology at Franklin County Medical Center. And the stuff that we don't do, I have good access to get people in sooner rather than later. And then, there are things that we do at Franklin County Medical Center that would surprise people that the closest place you can get them done is Salt Lake or Boise. So, there are several things that we do here that you can't get in Logan, you can't get in Pocatello. So, we do really offer a good spectrum of urology services.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. And one question that I always like to ask, because I'm fascinated by this answer, is given all of your experience as a urologist, what's one thing that you know to be true that you wish more patients knew before they came to see you?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So, the biggest thing that I see that people try to-- they don't try to, but they actually end up minimizing their symptoms is the incontinent female after menopause. I can't tell you how many times I'll have someone come in, they'll come in to see me for an unrelated topic, and I'll ask them about kind of how's your urinary control? And it's always the same answer with kind of a little bit of a laugh, "Oh, I've got an old lady's bladder. It leaks a little bit, but that's just a part of aging." Even though it might be a part of aging and a part of kind of the natural physiologic processes that take place, we have excellent treatments to put people back into complete control of their urination. And if there was one message I could push out to the population, it would be if you are leaking urine and you don't want to, we have solutions.

Prakash Chandran: You know, I often hear about this term work-life harmony, and it really seems like you have it. It seems like you're very passionate about what you do. It seems like you've kind of found at an early age kind of the specialty that you're going to build your career on. How do you think about like the things that you do in your personal life and how it bolsters what you do as a professional urologist?

Justin Parkinson, MD: So, I try to practice what I preach as much as I can. And so, when I have someone coming in and they've got a specific urologic problem and a lot of urologic problems, much like a lot of problems in healthcare can have some component of lifestyle to it, whether it's that your diet's a little bit off or your exercise routine's a little bit off. So, I try to not be a person who's going to kind of preach from the ivory tower, do as I say, but don't do as I do. And so, I see the things I do, trying to stay active, trying to be outside, trying to do those things as trying to live what I'm preaching when I'm talking to patients in clinic. That if you see me, hopefully, you see me doing the same things I'm telling you would make you healthier, not only just from a urologic perspective, but generally healthier.

And, you know, in today's world, I think that a big component of everybody's health is their mental health. And it's anxiety, and it's the things that go along with anxiety. And in my life at least, I've found that when I'm having those kind of situations come up for myself, if I'm actively engaged in something, whether that's service, whether that's work, whether that's exercise, when I'm actively engaged in things, I'm healthier mentally. And so, you know, ultimately, when it comes down to it, I don't focus on mental health, but I try to focus on the patient as a whole. I don't want to see them as just a bladder walking around that's leaking, right? I want to see them as a person who has this problem, and I want that person to have the best quality of life they can possibly have, well, I can help you with your urinary leakage, but are there some things I can do to also suggest things to make it so that you can maximize and live your best life? And so, that's what I'm trying to do when I'm not at work, is kind of live in the best life I can, so that maybe I can be an example to people around me.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. I think that's amazing and I love what you said there around looking at the patient as a whole. You know, they're a whole person, and living a balanced life where they are busy doing things to take care of themselves. They say that everything is connected. So if you live that balanced life and you live that healthy lifestyle, then it's going to affect everything in the body, including your bladder, wouldn't you say?

Justin Parkinson, MD: I agree. And when the bladder's affecting your ability to live that best life, let me help.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. There you go. There you go. Well, listen, I want to end with a speed round, maybe 60 seconds. I'll just ask you a couple questions and you can fire off an answer, okay?

Justin Parkinson, MD: Perfect.

Prakash Chandran: All right. What was your very first job?

Justin Parkinson, MD: I cleaned floors at a grocery store.

Prakash Chandran: All right. Who is a hero that inspires you?

Justin Parkinson, MD: That's a great question. Who is a hero that inspires me? You know, I would have to say it's my wife actually. She raised our kids and she kind of put herself to second place and it's her.

Prakash Chandran: Brownie points. I love it. What is your favorite food or drink?

Justin Parkinson, MD: I love sushi and any kind of sushi except, you know, I'm not a big gas station sushi fan.

Prakash Chandran: Okay. Yeah, I think that's fair. That's great advice for everyone. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go first?

Justin Parkinson, MD: I'm living there right now. I love the mountains. I love the outdoors, and I'm living where I want to visit.

Prakash Chandran: What is your favorite movie?

Justin Parkinson, MD: Oh, it used to be Top Gun. Now it's Top Gun Maverick.

Prakash Chandran: Great movie. What is your favorite genre of music to listen to?

Justin Parkinson, MD: I'm a country western guy.

Prakash Chandran: And finally, if you weren't a urologist, what specialty would you be practicing?

Justin Parkinson, MD: Wow. Specialty I'd be practicing if I wasn't a urologist, I probably would've ended up in plastics.

Prakash Chandran: And is there another profession that you might consider besides being a doctor?

Justin Parkinson, MD: If I had my perfect world, I would just be a farmer.

Prakash Chandran: There you go. I love it. Well, Dr. Parkinson, it's been a true honor and privilege to get to know you a little bit today. I hope that your patients get a little bit more insight into the humor and laughter that is Dr. Justin Parkinson. I think that kind of wraps us for today. So, I just wanted to say to everyone, thank you so much for listening to the Franklin County Medical Center Podcast. For more information, you can go to fcmc.org.