When you ask Dr. Barbara Boylan about what inspired her to pursue a medical career, she credits a lifelong interest in science and her father. “My dad was an ophthalmologist. He always wanted one of his children to follow in his footsteps, and I got elected by default since my sisters weren’t interested.” Dr. Boylan’s passion for science eventually led her to Stanford as an undergraduate. During her senior year, her advisor’s advice solidified her decision to attend medical school, “My advisor said, ‘If you get an MD, you have so much flexibility in what you do. So, look at giving yourself the greatest spectrum of opportunities.’ That made a lot of sense to me, so I applied and went to UCLA Medical School.”
During medical school, Dr. Boylan became interested in the specialties that would define her distinguished career. “I was into sports and bone and joint injuries, so I was originally thinking orthopedics,” she said. “But I wanted something more mental and less procedural, so I went into internal medicine.” Dr. Boylan returned to Stanford to do her residency in internal medicine, where she found her calling in cardiology. “I really enjoyed my rotations in the cardiac care unit. The physiology was interesting and dynamic – everything happens before you, and you can see what’s happening in real-time!” After residency, Dr. Boylan did a fellowship in critical care medicine at UC San Francisco followed by a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at UC Davis. After completing her fellowships, Dr. Boylan began working at the Veterans Administration of Northern California and continued teaching at UC Davis. “I worked in several different VA facilities in Northern California,” she said. “I supervised residents in medicine and cardiology fellows.” After six years with the VA, Dr. Boylan accepted a position at Kaiser in San Rafael, where she worked until her retirement in 2018.
However, for Dr. Boylan, retirement began an exciting new chapter. “I loved cardiology and wanted to keep working with people,” she said. “But I wanted to direct my attention toward underserved populations. I always felt that was a calling for me.” Dr. Boylan became a MAVEN Project volunteer right as she was retiring. Since then, she has supported frontline providers by offering individual provider consultations, group teaching sessions, and case presentations. “I love the idea of being able to help patients who wouldn’t otherwise get access to specialty care,” she said. “And I like the virtual platform – it’s the modality of the future.” Dr Boylan also works as a cardiology consultant at Alliance Medical Center in Sonoma, CA, one of MAVEN Project’s partner clinics. “I’m one of the only volunteers who volunteer for MAVEN and work at one of our clinic partners! Our medical director takes great advantage of MAVEN and its resources, and she encourages the whole group there to do the same.”
When she’s not volunteering, Dr. Boylan enjoys playing with her dogs and spending as much time outdoors as possible. “We go for long walks and bike rides. And I love the water, so I try to walk or bike along the water. Sometimes I even bring my pick-up stick to pick up trash while I’m out there.” Dr. Boylan also loves music and plays several instruments. “I played the flute pretty seriously prior to medical school, but now I have an assembly of instruments that I experiment with just for fun.”
Above all, Dr. Boylan says that she is trying to “stay challenged and keep making meaningful contributions in whatever ways I can.”
