Vanessa Baptiste Griffith, M.D.
Associate Medical Director
Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center of Northwell Health System
New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Age: 35
Vanessa Baptiste Griffith?s childhood pediatrician was so personable, warm and sincere in his approach to his patients that he inspired her become a pediatrician herself. Today, she is the associate medical director of the nursery at Cohen?s Children?s Medical Center of Northwell Health Systems and an attending pediatrician in the center?s Pediatric Hospitalist program. Her days are filled with treating newborns and attempting to ease the anxiety of new parents, where she is applies what she learned from her pediatrician, from her experiences as a medical student, resident and attending physician, and even from her job as a sales associate at Sears while still in high school. ?As a teenager I always had a great work ethic. My dad told me I had to work and I worked through college as well. It taught me about interacting with people and customer service,? Dr. Baptiste Griffith says.
Born to Haitian immigrants, Baptiste Griffith, M.D., F.A.A.P., earned a bachelor?s degree in economics from New York University, her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the Advancing Pediatric Educator Excellence (APEX) Teaching Program and an assistant professor of pediatrics for Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, and has worked with patients in Ghana. ?Becoming a physician is one of the biggest goals I?ve achieved. I give one hundred percent of myself in caring for every patient I see,? she states. The birth of her daughter, Keira, gave her greater empathy for her patients and their parents. ?It was very different being on the other side. I can see myself in their shoes,? Baptiste Griffith admits.
Baptiste Griffith would like to be a little more involved in teaching, and even in another administrative role ? though never to the point where she stops seeing patients.
