Timothy A. S. Sentongo, MD

Hello. My name is Dr. Timothy Sentongo. I'm a pediatric gastroenterologist. I had an uncle who was a physician. And my family and his used to carpool. And he periodically went by the hospital to finish his rounds before taking us home. And I admired the way he cared for people and the difference he seemed to make in people's lives. And also, he just was a very good thinker. And he had very good ways and perspectives of looking at things. And I wanted to be like that.

My interest is really in taking care of children who have growth problems that are related to a gastrointestinal problem. And also, I use growth as an outcome of how well the treatment is responding-- how somebody is responding to a treatment. When I see a child, they're cute, but I really am looking at the big picture. I know that a child will one day be an adult. And I feel this is an opportunity to create a successful adult. Therefore, whatever I do, I have this time period to do it and help a child become successful.

I'm very, very gratified when I engage a child without them getting very frightened and I'm able to connect with the children. I also am very gratified when parents are empowered, because of what I do, medical stuff is not necessarily-- you have to think through and solve problems, but you also have to educate families. And many times, it's not very, very complicated problems, but if the family understands what they need to do, then they're taught how to take care of their child. So I think that's a great satisfying thing to be.