Michael Tsao, MD

Bio

I love being a pediatrician. It is so rewarding to witness a child's development from the dawn of infancy to the full bloom of adulthood, knowing that I am serving an integral role in this transformation. I love caring for children because a child's smile can brighten up my day, or anybody's day for that matter!

I am proud to be a second generation Taiwanese American. I was born in Alabama. I grew up most of my life in Marin County.

I did my undergraduate training at Stanford University (Go Cardinal!), medical training at Northwestern University (Go Wildcats!), and pediatric residency training at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. I love Chicago and LA but returned to the Bay Area after residency because there is no place like home. I have been working at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Pediatrics Department since December, 2006.

It is an honor to be working here. I grew up in the North Bay as a Kaiser Permanente patient, under the care of wonderful health care providers. Now, working in the North Bay as a Kaiser Permanente physician, my life has come full circle. I cherish the opportunity to serve you and your family, to serve the local community I am proud to call home.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

Primary care pediatrics involves not only treating disease, but preventing disease. Preventing disease requires teaching families and their children healthy habits, like eating enough fruits and vegetables, exercising, and avoiding junk food. In teaching these healthy habits, I empower my patients with knowledge that will last a lifetime. Hence, the essence of primary care pediatrics lies in education.

Both my grandfather and father would agree about the importance of teaching; my grandfather was a Japanese-Taiwanese linguistics professor and my father was a mathematics professor. As a healthcare educator for my patients, I am carrying my family's honorable tradition of teaching with me whenever I step into the exam room.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

I am interested in dermatology, learning disorders, and alternative medicine.

Current projects or research:

I am a member of North American Taiwanese Medical Association, 2nd Generation (NATMA, 2G). We are Taiwanese American health care professionals devoted to providing healthcare for the Bay Area Taiwanese American community. For one of our projects, I helped organize a free healthcare booth during the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival in San Francisco's Union Square in May, 2007. We provided free blood pressure screenings, dental hygiene products, and medical guidance. It was an immensely rewarding experience for me.

Great health resources that I refer to:

Great books:
"The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp (a nice resource for fussy babies, especially those with colic).

"Emotionally Intelligent Parenting" by Elias, Maurice PH.D., Steven Tobias, Psy.D., & Brian Friedlander, Ph.D.

A great website:
http://www.mypyramid.gov/

This website is run by the FDA and is a great resource for learning more about good nutrition.

An interesting story from my training:

While at Northwestern, I was a member of "The Best Medicine," an improvisational comedy troupe consisting of medical students.

What is the best medicine? Often times, a good sense of humor! I could pretend to be anything, like a melting ice cube or a singing frog!

Improv comedy fosters light-heartedness, spontaneity, and humor, qualities integral to bonding with children as a pediatrician.

Photos from My Training Years or of Practicing Medicine in My Field:

NATMA 2G members in our Community Service booth, during the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival in San Francisco's Union Square.

Interests

Currently reading:
Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

My favorite book or author:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. The Bluest Eye and Beloved, by Toni Morrison.

Great movie:
The Straight Story

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I keep in touch with friends from my residency in Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles. One of these residents is currently a neonatology fellow at Stanford. I also enjoy having dinners with members of NATMA 2G (see "Current projects or research").

Photos of my Family & Friends:

My pediatric residency class at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles. In a pleasant moment...

...And in a wild and crazy moment!

Travel

An adventure I've had:

I visited the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, early one morning several years ago. This Memorial Hall is a wonderful municipal park in the middle of a bustling city. I arrived at around 6 AM that morning and experienced a unique adventure of sights and sounds: music groups singing Peking opera and playing traditional Chinese erhu and pipa instruments; ballroom dancers in formal attire; Chinese dragon dancers; martial arts competitions; tai-chi practitioners; schoolchildren singing the national anthem... even a lady in a beehive outfit jogging backwards!

Favorite place in the world:

The Bay Area! For one thing, I grew up here. For another thing, no other place offers such cultural diversity and such environmental beauty. A close second is Crater Lake in Oregon.

One of my recent trips:

I visited the Midwest for one week with my father this past October, 2007. My father and I stayed with my father's cousin in Winnetka, an idyllic suburban town near Chicago.

I lived in Chicago for four years during my medical school years at Northwestern. It was great to visit Chicago again. My favorite places to visit were Cloudgate, a highly reflective bean-shaped steel sculpture located in Millennium Park (see photo to the right), and Gino's East, which has in my mind the best deep-dish pizza, if not the best pizza, in the world!

Chicago was fun, but the highlight of our trip was our one-day visit to Wisconsin. My father and I visited a local church on a hilltop near Lake Michigan. The hilltop overlooked a beautiful forest of deciduous trees and their golden autumn foliage.

We also visited my father's college friend, who now lives in a suburb of Milwaukee with his wife. My father's friend and his wife were taking care of Olivia, their granddaughter, that day. I had a great time playing with Olivia, who is three years old. We played "chopsticks" on the piano and catch the ball. Olivia gave me a big bouncy ball to play with, and she had her own small bouncy ball. We played "Simon Says," bouncing, throwing, and catching our respective bouncy balls. Every time I look at the accompanying photos, I get a chuckle!

Travel Photos:

My mother and me in front of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

Trip Photos:

Olivia and her small bouncy ball. Me and my big bouncy ball.

Olivia, her grandmother, grandfather, and my father.

You can see part of the Chicago skyline with me in front of Cloudate, a highly reflective bean-shaped steel sculpture in Millenium Park.