Rosemarie D. Rose, MD, DABFM, ABIHM

Philosophy

Rosemarie Rose, MD has evolved her practice of medicine from traditional Family Medicine into an integrative, holistic framework over the last 20 years. She graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed her Family Medicine training at Fairfax Family Practice Residency Program. She is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. She is also licensed as a physician acupuncturist in Virginia. Additional studies have included Advanced Practice courses with the Institute of Functional Medicine and she is a Certified HeartMath® Practitioner. Dr. Rose serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine for Virginia Commonwealth University and acts as a preceptor for medical students and residents interested in integrative care. Special areas of expertise include stress adaptation, gastrointestinal issues, thyroid and adrenal hormone imbalance, sleep disorders and integrative approaches to ADD, anxiety and depression.

Joined Steinmetz Medical Associates: November 2011

Biography

The Birth of a Doctor

Growing up in a medical family where her father was “an old country doctor,” Dr. Rose has always known she wanted to help people heal.  Her years spent working in family practice she found enjoyable and rewarding since she could help her patients every step of the way.  However, she found that she wanted to give her patients more.  “My favorite part was hearing my patients’ stories, appreciating the small and large triumphs and tragedies that make up our lives. But the lack of effective treatments for so many of the common conditions I saw began to trouble me.”

Driven by her desire to get to the root of the body’s issues, she initially began to study neurotransmitter imbalances.  Through her study, she learned that these imbalances can express as depression, fibromyalgia, attention problems, and out-of-control appetite. After learning a few techniques for using nutritional amino acids to help address these imbalances, she opened a small consultative practice to help people with neurotransmitter disease.  At this point, she says: “It quickly became clear that I was just seeing the tip of the iceberg.  There was so much else going on.”

Dr. Rose then began her in-depth study of functional medicine, hoping to uncover the underlying causes of illness.  She studied textbooks, scientific publications, attended educational conferences and seminars, and spent time with other functional medicine practitioners in the area to see functional medicine in action. “These mentors confirmed my dismay that medical schools are not teaching the systems biology necessary to understand the interconnecting causes of disease.  Unfortunately, most of current medical practice is diagnosis-driven and pharmaceutically centered.”

Once the door to functional medicine was opened, Dr. Rose never looked back. She continues to use integrative approaches both personally and with her patients, and is excited to share her evolving perspective.  “As my practice progresses, my understanding grows.  I continue to expand my knowledge base and look forward to bringing even more to my practice of functional medicine.”

Experience

Rosemarie D. Rose, MD, earned her medical degree in 1989 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.  She completed her Family Medicine residency at the Fairfax Family Practice Residency Program, part of the Medical College of Virginia. Starting in 1992, she practiced a full range of family medicine with Fairfax Family Practice and affiliated practices.  She has also served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine for the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University.

In 2000, Dr. Rose suspended her clinical practice while starting a family.  She continued work in the medical field as an online medical editor and later by co-founding a company dedicated to improving the quality of continuing medical education for physicians.

Dr. Rose returned to clinical practice in 2007 working with our military veterans. Searching for a deeper understanding of diseases that were not well managed by conventional medical practice, she first completed specialized training in amino acid supplementation for the treatment of neurotransmitter disease.  Thereafter she began a comprehensive course of study through the Institute of Functional Medicine.

Special Interests

As a Family Practice physician, Dr. Rose treats a broad range of medical conditions. Her comprehensive course of study through the Institute of Functional Medicine has enabled her to take a deeper look at gastrointestinal issues, hormonal imbalances, thyroid disease, fatigue, and chronic diseases.  Before joining Steinmetz Medical Associates, she had a solo practice providing consultations in Functional Medicine as well as amino acid therapies for conditions like ADHD, fibromyalgia, migraine, and Parkinson’s Disease.

Building Trust

Dr. Rose believes strongly in the guidance given by William Osler, the father of modern medicine.  “If you listen to the patient, they will tell you what is wrong with them.”  A careful medical history where the patient has been able to convey their concerns is the cornerstone of trust and the launching point for the search for causes of disease. Dr. Rose enjoys learning each patient’s health goals and planning with them the best course of treatment to achieve those goals.  She never stops asking questions, and hopes to inspire her patients to do the same.

A Doctor’s Passion

Dr. Rose is dedicated to finding answers for her patients. “When an alarming array of chronic health conditions began to arise in people I love – depression, migraine headache, fibromyalgia, thyroid disease, obesity, endometriosis and fibroid tumors, cancer, stroke, attention problems, chronic skin diseases – I heard from these dear people the same things I had heard from my patients.  They told me how their medications only helped a little; the severe side effects of treatment; the acceptance of chronic pain as ‘that’s what I have to live with’; no other good alternatives for treatment.  I could not simply stand by and be the sympathetic ear. So I began to search.”  Dr. Rose never stops searching for her patients, and is passionate about helping them find their way to wellness.

Creating Optimal Wellness

Dr. Rose believes in the simplicity of treatment and can offer her patients the breadth of care and services needed to achieve a truly integrative approach to health.  She encourages her patients to find activities that they find relaxing, fun, and can help reduce stress.  For instance, she enjoys cooking and gardening and attends regular Pilates sessions.  For stress reduction, she practices meditation and biofeedback techniques, which she shares with her patients.  The path to wellness will vary based on the individual, and Dr. Rose is dedicated to helping her patients find their customized way to a life of health.

Success Story

Dr. Rose recalls a lovely woman who had been plagued for literally years with a red bumpy rash.  She had consulted internists and dermatologists, had tried antibiotics, steroids, various creams, and even going off all her medications with no success.  “When she came to me she was desperate to find the cause. We went back to the fundamental question of what in her environment was causing her body to have this rash.  She had already gotten rid of medications, allergenic soaps and detergents, so we looked at what she was eating.  Using an elimination diet, she discovered a couple of food sensitivities and was able to start avoiding those foods.  Over a period of months her rash lessened, but she also noted that frequent abdominal gas, bloating and diarrhea she had taken as normal also resolved.  Her headaches improved, her sleep got better, and that summer she was able to wear shorts without worrying about that unsightly rash.  Both she and I were amazed at how many problems had been caused by just a few things in her diet.”