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Dr. Marwah Tareen always had a strong bond with her grandmother. “I was the only female born into the paternal side of my family for many years. My grandmother had seven sons and one daughter. Her daughter died when they fled to newly formed Pakistan during the 1947 partition of India,” said Dr. Tareen. “I think because of that, she felt a special bond with me.”

Dr. Tareen’s grandmother was a healer. “She had a remedy for everything. She used a lot of Eastern medicine. If something was bothering me, she was ready with a tincture of turmeric.”

Dr. Tareen was born at home in Pakistan with the help of a midwife. “I was the firstborn in my family, and I was premature. I weighed only 3 pounds and doctors told my mother I would only live for a week.” Because of her fragility, her mother asked her grandmother to care for her. This helped to create the lifelong bond between the two.

“Because I was close to my grandmother, I wanted to be a healer too. She gave back to her community in so many ways, and I wanted to do the same thing,” said Dr. Tareen of the seeds planted by her grandmother.

She lived with her extended family in a large house until she was nine. “I had my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all living under one roof. There was a whole community right in my house,” she said.

Her father was an engineer. He would spend six months in Saudia Arabia and six months in Pakistan, so the family moved a lot. “My father realized that my education was limited living where we were. So in 1993, he applied for green cards and within a few months we relocated to the United States.”

The transition was hard for Dr. Tareen. “I came from a big family that I suddenly lost. It was a big adjustment. I just didn’t fit in. I didn’t dress the same, couldn’t speak English, and lost my friends and social network. So much was gone so suddenly.”

She credits English as a Second Language for helping her meet like-minded people. “Being in ESL helped me connect with other students who were going through something similar to me.”

Her father left his engineering career in the Middle East and started over in the United States. “They were humble beginnings. My father opened a Pakistani restaurant for a little while, he worked security at Dulles Airport, drove a cab…. he did whatever he needed to do.”

Dr. Tareen wanted to make her parents’ sacrifices worthwhile. “Inspired by my grandmother and her caring nature, I went into medicine.” She earned scholarships to attend George Mason University. During college, Dr. Tareen worked in a primary care office in Mclean. “The doctor there became my mentor.”

By her admission, Dr. Tareen didn’t do very well on her MCATs and knew getting into medical school was going to be a challenge, but she didn’t give up. “I was determined to make my parents’ sacrifices worthwhile,” she said. She ended up going to medical school in the Cayman Islands, “I had never been to a beach and all of a sudden, I step off an airplane, onto an island. It was amazing to study medicine in paradise for two years.” Afterward, she returned to the United States for her rotations. But faced more challenges when she tried to get into a residency. “It took three years for me to match to a residency program. I almost gave up. During this time, I earned an MBA from Davenport University.”

A job in New Jersey helped her get into her residency at Hackensack Mountainside Family Medicine. “My MBA combined with my medical degree and an interest in helping hospital systems improve their physicians’ clinical documentation to help the hospital systems capture the severity of illness of their admitted patients helped me get into a residency.” She began practicing family medicine. “It felt like I had come full circle with my grandmother. I was helping families just like she had.”

Dr. Tareen’s life moved in fast forward at that point. She met her husband, they married, and learned they were expecting a baby all during her residency.

Today, Dr. Tareen, her husband Badar, and their nearly two-year-old son Zayan live in Pentagon City but are looking forward to moving to D.C. she loves being a mom and being on the other side of her practice. “I love connecting with other mothers about parenting since it is new for me. We spend a lot of time at playgrounds where I always reach out to someone,” she said.

She joined MSDC for the connections as well. “When we moved to D.C. I didn’t know many physicians. I wanted to meet like-minded people and joined the organizations. I love the MSDC events and connecting with people.”

She joined the Wellness Group and got a physicians’ coach who helps her to see where her career will be in a few years. With a high burn-out rate in her specialty, Dr. Tareen works to implement programs to help combat physician burnout. “I am on the Joy and Hopkins recruitment and retention program at University and help to brainstorm ideas that will bring physicians more joy.”

Family medicine has fulfilled a dream that Dr. Tareen’s grandmother had for her at one time. She is grateful for the opportunities afforded to her and pleased with her perseverance in achieving her dreams. “It is everything that everyone dreamed of for me,” she said.

Do you know a physician who should be profiled in the MSDC Spotlight Series? Submit a nomination to Robert Hay, hay@msdc.org, for a future story. MSDC membership is encouraged for featured physicians.