Physician Profile:
Robyn Frederick, M.D. of CPC-North Augusta
When it came time to think
about career choices, Robyn Frederick had many influences. As the third and
youngest daughter of Dodge and Diana Frederick, she considered following her
father’s path as an FBI agent but was also drawn to athletics. She had grown
up playing sports, including soccer starting at age 5, and learning dance
with her sisters, Heather and Holly, in their mom’s studio. A self-described
science nerd, Robyn also knew early on that she had an aptitude for science.
It was during her senior year in high school, when she broke her collarbone
playing soccer, that some of those influences began to merge. Considering
her hopes to play collegiate soccer, the excellent quality of care she
received was critical to her recovery. This experience left a lasting
impression on the would-be doctor that made all the difference in the
pursuit of her dreams.
“After two surgeries, metal plates, and a long recuperation, I was totally
amazed at what the doctors had been able to do for me,” Robyn recalls. This
experience led her to consider a career in orthopedics or sports medicine
because she liked the idea of helping people stay physically active, as her
doctors had done for her. If she would become a doctor, she thought, this
would definitely have to be part of her practice.
Robyn’s choice of undergraduate schools – Presbyterian College in Clinton,
SC – was also a factor of family influences and personal goals. Her father
and older sister are PC alums and the school further enticed her with both
athletic and academic scholarships.
From the time she visited her sister on campus when she was in sixth grade,
Robyn felt at home at PC. “It was small and friendly, and my sister told me
I would make more and better friends there than at a larger college,” she
says. “Later, as a student, I found that to be true.”
At PC, Robyn not only excelled in her premed studies but also played center
midfield on the women’s soccer team, which won the South Atlantic Conference
a few times and made it to the national tournament her sophomore year. After
graduating from PC magna cum laude in 2002, Robyn enrolled at the Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston not yet certain which medical
specialty she would pursue.
During her clinical rotations, she found something she liked about each
specialty, but her first interest in family medicine was more for
gastronomic than medical reasons. Genuine interest came with her family
medicine rotation, which offered ongoing primary care for patients.
Her rotation with Dr. Hugh Morgan, a family physician in rural Johnston, SC,
was exactly what she had hoped. “The type of care he provided was varied and
he really knew his patients,” she said. “I liked seeing the ease and good
relationship he had with them and how comfortable they were with him.” To
her pleasure, it was something that carried over into her personal
experience with patients: “Over the course of my rotation in family
medicine, I saw many patients more than once and I loved the continuity of
care and getting to know them better.”
While Robyn was busy preparing to become a doctor, a circumstantial
friendship was blossoming into romance. During their first semester of
medical school, Robyn met David Fallaw when they were assigned to be gross
anatomy lab partners. This partnership led to a close friendship, dating,
and eventually a serious relationship. As they approached the end of their
medical education, they realized they had found in each other their life
mates.
On the academic front, Match Day, when fourth-year medical students find out
where they will do their residencies, was fast approaching. Although Robyn
and David had chosen different specialties ― family medicine and internal
medicine, respectively ―they had two common goals for their residencies:
being together and being near their families in Lexington, Aiken/Batesburg,
and Columbia, SC. With Augusta as the obvious choice for the final leg of
their medical education, they registered for couples match and were soon
thrilled to learn they would both be at MCG. Following graduation from MUSC
in 2006, Robyn and David settled in Aiken for their three years at MCG.
During her final year of residency, the couple’s relationship took an
official turn. On the weekend after Valentine’s Day, Robyn and her friends
were spending a couple of days together in Charleston. David, who had told
her he would be in Aiken, had asked that she take something to a friend
while she was there. As she approached The Battery where she was supposed to
meet him on that cool Saturday afternoon, she was surprised and a little
confused when, instead of their friend, she saw David waiting with the
couple’s two Boykin spaniels . . . that is, until she spotted the beautiful
diamond ring tied to Lucky’s collar. For someone who is not easily caught
off guard, it was a perfect surprise. They plan to be married in May.
With the end of her residency on the horizon, Dr. Frederick had begun
seriously considering where to begin her practice. “I knew I wanted to be in
a group,” she says, preferably one that offered electronic medical records,
administrative support for the business side of medicine so she could focus
on patient care, and teaching opportunities that didn’t require her to
practice at an academic center. Dr. Frederick was already familiar with
Center For Primary Care, having visited CPC with some of her fellow
residents in her second year of medical school. She had been impressed with
the quality of patient care, camaraderie among physicians and staff, the
administrative support, and the variety of care available at the five
offices. So, when she was offered a job at CPC-North Augusta, she knew she
had found her practice home. Dr. Frederick started seeing patients at CPC in
September 2009.
“CPC is a great working environment and my patients have been very welcoming
and friendly,” she says. “I really look forward to building a good practice
here ― one that includes young athletes and allows me to care for families
as they grow.”
Although starting a practice can be all-consuming, Dr. Frederick makes time
to do the things she enjoys outside work ― spending time with her fiancé,
walking their dogs, doing yard work, visiting her parents and sisters,
spending time at Lake Murray on the family’s pontoon boat, and planning the
couple’s spring wedding. Among her goals are joining an adult soccer league
and establishing balance between work and home life in anticipation of
starting a family.
Dr. Frederick has always believed that the best medical care is the product
of a healthy partnership between patient and doctor. At CPC, she has found a
practice home with supportive colleagues and wonderful patients where those
partnerships can and will flourish. Welcome to CPC and to our community, Dr.
Frederick!
