Adrienne Socci, MD, is a pediatric orthopedist who treats problems ranging from broken bones to congenital conditions that require careful monitoring over a period of years, such as hip dysplasia (where the socket doesn’t fully cover the ball portion of the hip). She also cares for adults who have broken bones and other injuries after trauma.
There are things both adults and children have in common, Dr. Socci says. “Something that used to work doesn't work now,” she says, and the goal is to bring the patient to a level where they can function. “You have to be a good surgeon, but I think the most important thing we do is communicate. You have to read people and know what kind of information they need. Do they need the details or the overview? If you know these things, you can give them the information they’re looking for and you can put them at ease.”
Dr. Socci felt drawn to the practice of medicine ever since she was a child. “My mother wanted to be a doctor. My father is an engineer. Their parents were engineers, tailors, and carpenters. I think all of this came together so that I was born wanting to be a doctor.”
After spending two years early in her career treating tuberculosis and HIV patients in Haiti, Peru, Rwanda and Siberia, she developed a special interest in caring for people in resource-poor settings. “I like to think this kind of work makes me a better doctor,” she says.
Dr. Socci is an assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation a Yale School of Medicine.
