Guy Caldwell Society Head

Guy Caldwell Medical Society Head:

Michelle G. Puzdrakiewicz, MD, MPH, FAAP
Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics Hospitalist
 

Background

Dr. Michelle Puzdrakiewicz is originally from Sacramento, California. She attended the California State University, Sacramento where she obtained her B.S. in Biology.  She then attended Tulane Medical School and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and obtained her MD/MPH in 1997. It was during these years that she and her husband, Thad, fell in love with the city. She returned to her hometown of Sacramento to complete her pediatric residency at the University of California, Davis where she also served as Chief Resident.  Dr. P continued practicing general pediatrics with UC Davis until 2007.  From 2007 to 2018 Dr. Puzdrakiewicz worked in rural West Tennessee as a pediatric hospitalist.  This was an inspiring time in her career. In 2018 Dr. Puzdrakiewicz and her husband chose to relocate back to New Orleans as their children had grown up and they wanted to return permanently to the city they both fell in love with in 1993.  She is passionate about medical student and resident education.

Credentials & Qualifications

Dr. Puzdrakiewicz has held appointments at UC Davis, Vanderbilt. the University of Tennessee Health Science Medical School and The University of Queensland. She served on countless medical committees during her career and was appointed Medical Director of the Pediatric Hospitalist program at West Tennessee Healthcare in 2014.  She has been recognized with awards for her teaching, as well as her compassion in medical care.  During her time in West Tennessee, Dr. Puzdrakiewicz worked with the local YMCA to address childhood obesity, she was assigned to the Governor’s Obesity Taskforce where she provided community level and state level education and she was part of the TennCare physician advisory team to evaluate the accessibility of pediatric care in the region. Dr. Puzdrakiewicz is board certified in General Pediatrics as well as Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Best Part of My Job

The best part of my job is a busy day full of interesting cases where the medical team works together to provide care, education and comfort to the patient and their family.  Physicians are teaching constantly – teaching families, nursing staff, medical students, residents and each other.  It is inspiring to watch medical students and residents as they progress through their training and develop into strong young physicians.  I am a life-long learner and I hope to inspire others to be life-long learners as well. 

Interests Outside Work

Dr. Puzdrakiewicz is a member of Blessed Francis Seelos Parish, she enjoys outside activities including gardening, hiking, kayaking and bike riding.  She and her husband have been working on restoring their home so often she will have paint in her hair or small abrasions on her hands from sanding or doing something she has never done before with her hands!