FORT WALTON BEACH — Dr. Rose Schultz always has had a knack for getting people to talk to her, sometimes inadvertently. A vivid memory from her early teens is of an older woman who stopped her on her walk to school just to discuss her arthritis.
Through experience, the 66-year-old obstetrician/gynecologist has taken that skill a step further by learning to talk to patients on all different levels, not only to educate them but to make them comfortable.
“I am a joyful person who enjoys pulling others into my joyful web,” Schultz said Thursday at the Okaloosa County Health Department.
Her gift in reaching patients and her work as a volunteer at the Health Department inspired her colleague, Dr. Venita Morell, to nominate her as a person who makes a difference.
“A lot of times, people can leave a doctor’s office feeling confused or dissatisfied,” Morell said. “(Dr. Schultz’s patients) feel like they got what they needed.”
Schultz heard about the Health Department’s need for volunteer physicians from a colleague. She was in private practice at the time, but in March 2003 her malpractice insurance increased from $14,000 to $38,000 a year, which forced her into early retirement.
She joined the Health Department in 2009.
Schultz had a desire to give back, or “give forward” to the next generation, and working for the Health Department gave her a way to return to medicine. Sovereign immunity provided by the state protects Schultz if she is sued.
Schultz sees between nine and 12 patients Thursday afternoons. The women make up about 5 percent of the department’s family practice patients, Morell said.
“Without Dr. Schultz, these women would have to wait to be seen,” she said.
Schultz loves to see young women because she knows they’re smart, have a smart woman to encourage them to see a doctor, or both.
“Young women are willing to function in an unstable world,” Schultz said. “They face it with excitement.”
Schultz was one of eight women to graduate from University of Kentucky’s medical school in 1974. She also was the only female surgical intern at the University of South Florida in 1974-1975 and was the third woman to graduate from UK’s ob/gyn residency in 1978.
Medical school was one sexual harassment experience after another, Schultz said. She remembers lying about her severe menstrual cramps to fellow students, instead telling them she was hung over. No woman should have to put up with menstrual cramps, she said.
“They can affect your whole life.”
Patients come in for family planning services, but many find out about other conditions they have or are susceptible to through their exam, Schultz said.
One major problem for young women is obesity, which hampers their ability to conceive, Schultz said. Her goal is for women to conceive their children when they are wanted.
When she leaves work on Thursdays, Schultz said it’s always with a feeling that she’s done a good job instead of the stress she felt earlier in her career.
“I love how I feel when I leave here.”
Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado can be reached at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.