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Edward Levitan, md, founded Visions HealthCare in 2008 and is responsible for overseeing many aspects of the business, including physician training IT, and finances, in addition to maintaining his own patient practice. Dr Levitan focuses on creating structures that allow patients to heal in all of the five core areas of health: physical, biochemical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual.
After graduating from Boston University Medical School with an MD, Dr Levitan completed his residency at Brown University. He took multiple courses in functional medicine after residency and was mentored by a local physician. He is also trained in shiatsu, Japanese bodywork, acupuncture, and massage. He holds a black belt in tae kwon do and has been practicing qigong for the past 15 years.
Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal (IMCJ): How early in life did you know that you wanted to go into medical practice and how did that impact your development as a physician?
Dr Levitan: I have wanted to be a physician since I was 6 years old, so I knew that I wanted to go into medicine. There were two main reasons for that. One, my grandmother was a physician in Russia and she was highly thought of and highly praised. The other is that my whole family is entrepreneurs and I wanted nothing to do with that side of the business and that side of work. Obviously I did not get what I wanted-or thought I wanted-I am undeniably an entrepreneur at this point.
IMCJ: Tell us where you went to school and a little bit about your experience there and how that affected your perspective of practice.
Dr Levitan: I went to Brandeis University for college and then had a unique opportunity. I took 2 years off between college and medical school and during that period I did research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute-basic science research. At the same time, I got a bodywork certificate and opened a small practice doing shiatsu and Japanese bodywork. I learned about energy medicine. I learned about shamanism. I learned about acupuncture and acupressure. I got very lucky to take 2 years off between college and medical school.
Then, when I went to medical school at Boston University, I actually audited the Harvard acupuncture course. I...