Dear Doctor: Shahnoz Rustamova
The free-spirited gynecologist whose practice works to empower women of all ages.
Meeting Dr. Shahnoz Rustamova at her office at Central Park Medical, one of the first things you see is a quote on the wall: “In this house we are a family, love each other, be happy everyday, be grateful, positive, truthful. Forgive when it’s hard. Never give up. Keep your promises. Always tell the truth and try to keep these house rules.” These words encompass the atmosphere Dr. Rustamova and her team emulate — making their office a space of empowerment and growth. Read on to learn more about her holistic approach to gynecology, and why she’s the International Association of Top Professionals Woman of the Year!
“I was born in a family full of doctors. My dad was a gynecologist and my mother was a neonatologist, so for me it was natural to go into obstetrics and gynecology. I grew up in the labor and delivery wing at the hospital, doing my homework with the nurses. I saw a lot of things and I loved it from the beginning. It was like a family business. Being able to see a mother bring a child into the world — it’s miraculous.”
Starting a Private Practice
I’m from Uzbekistan in the Soviet Union and went to medical school there. I came to the States in 1998, and once I arrived, I had to start my medical education again. I redid my exams and all of my medical training. I did my residency and OB rotations at Jamaica hospital. Then I did my gynecology rotations at Sloan Kettering. In the end, I wound up with two rounds of good and intense training.
In 2008, I started my own private practice. I love having my own practice; the freedom is great. I can work in my own style and use my own approach. It’s really not only the body that I work with — it’s your psyche because your emotions affect your menstrual cycle, your hormones, and your overall health.
My style is to fuse Western medicine, the way I was trained, and indigenous medicine. I extract the best parts of each and use them in my daily practice.
I spend a lot of time talking to my patients about their feelings and emotions. A lot of them are working women, and it’s so stressful living in New York, so I make sure that they are doing okay.
In addition to addressing their medical needs, we also discuss yoga, meditation, supplements, herbs, vitamins, and all sorts of healthy techniques they can try. The mission of my practice is to empower women, not just healthwise, but also in their professional journey and in society. I have patients as young as high school and college. This gives me the opportunity to really guide them throughout their lives.
Finding Balance while Running a Business
My Nurse Practitioner and I see patients five days a week. The culture in my office is very different than other offices. We provide all the basic GYN services, ultrasounds, and surgery if needed. We provide cosmetic services, like laser hair removal as well. My employees make commission off these and the proceeds also go to our non-profit. It’s fulfilling for them because they are providing for themselves and helping other people.
As a business owner, I’ve learned the importance of keeping myself balanced and taking care of myself. I used to be a Type A person, running non-stop. But I’ve learned that self-love is key. I see the benefits of practicing to eat healthy, exercise, and meditate. These are skills I love to share with my patients. If they don’t work we come up with something else. Often, I learn about new things from them too!
Seeing my patients empowered and thriving is so special. When they say things like, “You’ve changed my life.” It gives me a tremendous sense of gratitude.
I also work with residents from the hospital to help them navigate them through their training in the hopes of helping to grow a more holistic generation of doctors. It all comes from internal balance. Once you have that, you can help so many people, no matter who you are or what you do.
Starting a Non-Profit Organization
I saw firsthand the collapse of the Soviet Union. When you watch something that big fall, you see all the chaos that comes as a result. The importance of having basic needs like food, water, shelter, medical care, and education are beyond valuable. Losing access to those things can cause your life to shatter — you don’t create like you used to create, and you aren’t thinking of your future, only of the present. Witnessing all of this and realizing what human desperation is — I knew I needed to start something of my own one day.
Once I came here, established myself, and got settled, I began working on my non-profit — Central Park Angels. We started by working with the Red Cross on hurricane relief. We helped here in New York with Hurricane Sandy. Then, when the earthquake hit Nepal in 2015, for the first time my team and I decide to go out of the country to provide medical services wherever we could. But I soon realized that these short missions were really just “patches,” temporary solutions to larger issues. Thus, our goal now is to focus on severe poverty in remote locations, and to try to help create self-sustainable lives for the people there. We want to give them the basic structures to survive and grow.
Each of our programs is for three years, providing services and training with the aim of having our recipients completely independent by the time we leave. For the past three years, we’ve been working in Haiti. We’re in a very rural part of the country, and it’s kind of like our lab, where we are testing a lot of different things to see what works. We’re trying to polish the formula to be a base of what can work in other parts of the world.
For food, we create livestock co-ops so residents can work to grow their food, learn the business, and have it be their source of income. For water, we place water pumps. Medically, we have a midwife and a doctor who check in on the patients at least once a month. Everything is staffed by local people, which helps the community be self-sufficient and gives them sense of ownership, and then my team and I come in every six to ten months.
So far, we’ve been doing everything with the money we’ve generated from our practice. However, the project is growing so fast that we can’t keep up, so this year we’ve reached out to donors for help. The International Association of Top Professionals sponsored my first fundraising event, and they are awarding me with the Woman of the Year award this December, which is very exciting; I’m honored. A lot of amazing people are reaching out to us and wanting to partner with us. For example, I’m working with some European architects on a self-sustaining housing project for storms.
Lightning Round
I love what I do because…I love helping. What I do is fun.
One thing I wish everyone knew…that our purpose on the planet is for all of us to be happy.
I feel looked after…constantly. By the girls at my office, who help me in my non-profit and support me in my work. By my patients when they say, “thank you.” And of course, by my family, too.
Favorites
Travel spots: I love the south of India. For a luxurious trip, somewhere in Europe or the Emirates. For a spiritual getaway, Sedona or the Caribbean.
NYC neighborhood: Here in midtown where my office is located! I feel so lucky I’m in-between Central Park and Times Square. I also have a little community here; people know each other.
NYC activity: Yoga and meditation. Sometimes I go to California and do massive Kundalini yoga gatherings. When the weather is nice, my girls and I will take a break to do yoga in Central Park!
You can learn more about Dr. Shahnoz Rustamova here.
Know a great female doctor in NYC? We’d love to meet her, introduce us here!
