Michelle Deann Barnes, MD

I chose to go into medicine because I think, like a lot of providers, God has given us gifts and talents. And we want to help people, support people, make people better. I thought medicine would be the best place to use those talents that God gave me. I love family medicine because you get to see a little bit of everything. You get to work with different kinds of patients, different diseases and conditions. I get to see the same people over and over and build really good relationships with them, get to walk with them in their health care journey, be able to celebrate the wins with them, and mourn the losses with them, and get to do life with them, which I think is really cool. I think the most gratifying part about practicing medicine is when we get to see and celebrate those health care wins, whether it's with improved lab values or people are able to do more than they were before. Being able to celebrate those wins together is the best part of my job and makes my job worth it.

I have always loved the atmosphere and culture at Mercy and the way we provide healthcare is different than any other organizations. I want my patients to know that I am here for them and want to get to know them for more than just why they came into the office. I want to build a relationship with them. Two of my passions as an advanced nurse practitioner are educating my patients to make informed decisions and discussing preventative healthcare and the benefits.