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Vital Signs
Clinical Observation
In this section, we highlight the human side of clinical academic medicine, putting a few questions to a physician at DMS-DHMC.
Misty Blanchette Porter, M.D.
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Reproductive Endocrinology) and of Radiology
Porter, a gynecologist and infertility specialist, is the medical director of DHMC's Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Infertility Program. A 1989 graduate of DMS, she joined the DHMC staff in 1996.
How did you get interested in your specialty?
When I read about the birth of the world's first
IVF [in vitro fertilization] baby—Louise Brown,
in Great Britain, in 1978—I knew I wanted to
be a reproductive endocrinologist. I was awestruck
by Drs. Patrick Steptoe's and Robert Edwards's
abilities to combine basic science with
clinical skills and give the gift of a child to a
family.
Before you were 12, what did you think you wanted to be?
A large-animal veterinarian. When I was growing
up, I spent much of my free time riding and
showing horses.
If you could live in any time period, when would it be?
I would love to have a chance to see what the
Hawaiian Islands were like before the 1950s. I
grew up in Honolulu. When I go home now, I
see large housing developments where there
were once acres of sugarcane and pineapple. I
grew up snorkeling the reefs off Oahu and wonder
what they must
have looked like
before there was so
much development
and runoff.
What kinds of things
do you enjoy doing
outside of work?
My husband and I
are both divers and
like to go to remote
reefs on vacation. I've also just run my first half
marathon. At home, I read cookbooks instead
of novels, and I bake withmy
kids. I love to cook and take
cooking classes. It is from other
chefs that you can learn to appreciate
how a dish should look and smell
when it is prepared properly.
What about you would surprise people who don't know you
very well?
I will dive down to 150 feet, but you won't find
me higher than a few feet up in a tree. I amafraid
of heights.
If you could trade places with anyone, real or imaginary,
who would it be and why?
Claude Monet. I would love to see the details of
the world through the eyes of a talented artist.
What do you like most about your job?
The variety in what I do. Every day is different.
Each week I spend a day in the OR and split the
rest of my time between seeing patients in the
clinic and doing ultrasounds.
What is the greatest challenge in your work?
Supporting those who are grieving when they
don't conceive.
And the greatest joy?
Seeing the children I helped patients conceive
out in the community with their families.
Of what professional accomplishment are you most proud?
I am currently an oral board examiner for the
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
What do you admire most in other people?
I admire careful decision-makers. Successful
leaders seem to dissect a problem into components
before trying to solve it.
What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
I'm an ob-gyn but nearly had my third child outside
the ER at DHMC. We left the car running
and the doors open, and I barely made it into a
labor and delivery room before he was born. Despite
having delivered hundreds of babies, I
didn't believe I could have a three-hour labor.
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