Cleveland Clinic put functional medicine at the forefront when, in 2014, it became the first academic medical center in the country to open a department dedicated to this “root cause” model of care; instead of naming the disease, we seek to discover why the patient is ill. Functional medicine is founded upon a patient-centered, personalized foundation that prioritizes open communication and mutual respect between physicians and their patients. Dr. Stacey, the founder and CEO of Robinson MD, is proud to offer the functional medicine philosophy to her patients with the mission to help them achieve their best health. In the spirit of the relationship building that functional medicine is all about, here are some interesting facts about Dr. Stacey: the professional history, qualifications, and personal interests that define her approach to medicine and make her unlike any other functional medicine doctor in Tampa Bay.

During her undergraduate studies at California State University, Dr. Stacey cultivated her deep-seated passion for caring for others. It was during this time that she realized medicine was her calling, and she went on to attend the Tulane School of Medicine, where she graduated top of her class in 1996. In order to synthesize her drive to care for others with her passion for holistic, mindful care, she became double-board certified in both Family Medicine and Integrative Medicine. These areas of focus allow her to offer care that prioritizes people over symptoms, getting to the root of the issues her patients are experiencing and provide effective long-term solutions. She is also certified through the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), the most rigorous and comprehensive training program available.

Dr. Stacey attended Tulane University School of Medicine on an Air Force scholarship, and she went on to complete her residency at Travis Air Force Base. From 1996 to 2003, Dr. Stacey served as the Medical Director of the MacDill Air Force base, where she has the honor of caring for our active duty servicemen and women, their families, and retired veterans. She cites her time in the Air Force as one of the best experiences of her life.

In the years following her service, Dr. Stacey worked in an array of practices and was disappointed to find one unfortunate common theme in many of them: an emphasis on quantity over quality. In conventional care systems, physicians are urged to see as many patients as possible. This severely reduces the amount of time a doctor is able to spend getting to know and diagnosing a patient: the average primary care visit in the United States is approximately 15 minutes. After experiencing this “quantity over quality” model, Dr. Stacey became certain that she wanted to offer her patients a different option: one that would give them time with their physician, quality individualized services, and more lifestyle-oriented options of care. It was with this philosophy in mind that she founded Robinson MD.

Through her book, blogs, online programs, and cooking videos, she is dedicated to providing people with tools to live healthy. A self proclaimed healthy foodie, one of Dr. Stacey’s favorite hobbies and biggest passions is to show people how to cook delicious meals that offer nutritious benefits. She is particularly passionate about bringing these recipes to her patients and others, inspiring them to pursue healthy diets without having to sacrifice taste or enjoyment of food. If you’d like to see some of these recipes for yourself, check out her YouTube videos.

Often, patients in a conventional primary care visit are asked about their medical history and potential allergies. During a functional care visit, patients are also asked about these factors – as well as about their diet, exercise routine, sleep schedule, stress levels, current emotional circumstances, and other psychosocial factors that could be significantly impacting their mental, emotional, and physical health.

The multitude of experiences Dr. Stacey has had in her career have culminated in her passion for providing holistic, attentive care. This functional approach to medicine is characterized by an emphasis on lifestyle. While most conventional medicine practitioners isolate patients’ symptoms and prescribe medication to treat those, Dr. Stacey’s functional approach places an emphasis on looking at the patient as a whole. You are much more than the sum of your symptoms, and your medical care should reflect this. It’s why Dr. Stacey dives deeply into each patient’s unique characteristics – diet, sleep, exercise routine, stress levels, psychological and emotional circumstances, and genetic information – in order to provide tailored treatment plans that get to the root of the issue.

Dr. Stacey is proud to be a functional medicine doctor in Tampa Bay who places an emphasis on holistic care, taking a functional approach to medicine with the mission of helping every patient achieve their best health. If you’re ready to take the first major steps toward long-term health improvements, book your first visit with Dr. Stacey.