Dr. Villanueva
Internal Medicine & Geriatrician – Hamptons
Dr. Alvin Villanueva practices Internal Medicine & Geriatrics in our Hamptons location.
Where did you go to Medical School?
I went to University of the Philippines for med school. I really did not practice in the Philippines after finishing medicine in 1996. As soon as I took and passed the USMLE, I went to the US got accepted into Internal Medicine Residency in New York City and geriatrics fellowship in Milwaukee, WI. I practiced for a few years in Milwaukee and 12 months in New Zealand before I came to Canada in 2006.
What lead you to become an Internist/Geriatrician?
I always like the thought process involved with Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. It is more abstract than other specialties as one deals with what can be a complex interplay between inherent systems and other extraneous factors which affect how people perceive their symptoms and outcomes. I always like the critical thinking involved coming up with the diagnosis and treatment plan.
What do you like best about working for Peak?
I like that it is at the same time a multi-specialty clinic and I think that makes referrals between specialists more efficient. It is easier to do a more holistic care plan for a certain patient if those specialists are easy to access within your network.
How do you define patient care?
I think that patient care should be wholistic, compassionate, and rational. My geriatric subspecialty has provided me a mindset that each person is not just an organ system but a whole individual. One has to look at a person as a total individual and a lot of factors affect a person’s health outcomes.
What do you love about your job?
I feel most fulfilled when patients are able to affect a positive change in their health behaviours and able to attain function to be able to participate in life again in a meaningful way.
Outside of the office, what are your interests and hobbies?
I always have had a creative side. When I was much younger, I thought I was going to be a painter or a writer. I am still quite interested in the arts and literature. I love reading both fiction and nonfiction in my spare time. I do not really paint anymore but I do make clothes as I thought that is a more practical art form. I also quite musical since I was a kid. I am always singing a tune (not too loudly though) at home. I also can dance quite well.