Old school. That’s how Dr. Joe Tate describes his three-decade approach to delivering babies. So if Tate is your obstetrician, he’ll deliver your baby, not another doctor you don’t know. The sole practitioner based in Peachtree Corners doesn’t know much about vacations or golf. Old school also means that Tate is a strong proponent of a woman’s power to give birth naturally. His philosophy and accomplishment of bringing more than 6,000 babies into the world, as well as his work as a clinical assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University, has earned him a REAL Award honoring health care workers for “extraordinary service.” The awards, given to nine U.S. recipients this past January, were created by Save the Children and the Frontline Health Workers Coalition to build greater support for health workers worldwide. We caught up with an exhausted but exhilarated Tate on a day that he had delivered five babies — and was waiting on a sixth. For more on the REAL Awards, visit therealawards.com.
Q: You started out your professional life as a chemical engineer then went into medicine. What was that about?
A: As a young guy in my mid-20s, I got a little disillusioned with what I was doing. The job didn’t have adequate prospects for advancement. I researched a number of career paths and being a physician seemed like the way to go. What I really enjoyed doing the most was taking care of women. A lot of what I do is healthy medicine so there is a lot of joy involved.
Q: What do you mean by healthy medicine?
A: Most of what I do is helping women to have their babies safely. I don’t want to make it sound like there are no problems but women are designed to have babies. They generally will do just fine.
Q: How did you feel about the award?
A: Everyone likes to be appreciated. Several of my patients nominated me. Forty percent of my score was from online voting; 30 percent from accomplishment and 30 percent from a phone interview. I didn’t expect to win.
Q: Why do you think you did?
A: Maybe I am a little different. A lot of doctors, especially in my field, are practicing defensive medicine. Everyone expects a perfect baby and if something doesn’t go right, they tend to sue. Today, about 35 percent of the births in this country are being preformed by caesarian section. It is hard to imagine that a C-section is a necessity more than one-third of the time. I made a conscious decision just to provide the best possible medical care I can and if I am sued, well, I can’t control everything.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I guess I enjoy the work. If I ever got a partner who was like me, we could swap off and maybe I could get out of town more. But I really don’t see that happening.
Q: Do you like teaching?
A: I love teaching. I am always working with residents which is a way of making a contribution. There is no better way to improve yourself than when you are trying to teach your craft and knowledge to somebody else. It keeps you sharp.
Q: You have delivered thousands of babies. Does it ever get rote?
A: I still get a rush with each one. I really do enjoy what I do. I don’t think I could put in the hours if I didn’t.
The Sunday conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by email at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
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