Introducing BJU's New Pediatrician and Internist, Dr. Donroe

Looking for a new GP for yourself or your kids? Read our Q&A with Dr. Joseph Donroe and see if he could be your guy! He’s an internist and a pediatrician at Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU), meaning he is qualified to take care of the general medicine needs of adults and children. 

Tell us about your medical background.

I went to school in Boston, Massachusetts in the US – a school called Tufts. I did my undergraduate there, and then I took several years off. During that time, I worked as a furniture mover and traveled around the world. When I came back, I went to medical school at Tufts. I did a medical degree and a degree in Public Health. I actually took some time off during medical school to go to South America for a couple of years, and that’s where I met my wife. I was doing public-health-oriented work with children in Lima, Peru. The work I was doing in Lima was very much geared toward a specific population – homeless children – and we were using sports – soccer – to engage children in teamwork activities, self-esteem building, and interventions to decrease aggression and violence. That was great. I lived there for a couple of years, and then came back to Tufts to finish my medical degree. 

Then, I went to Yale to do my residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Soon after I finished, I moved to Beijing and worked for a year as a pediatrician here at BJU. When I went back to the US, I worked at Yale University as one of their faculty doctors doing medical teaching. One of my hats is with Yale School of Medicine; I direct one of the medical courses for students there. For the young doctors training at Yale, I’m one of the teaching faculty members.

One of the other medical hats I wear is that of a specialist in addiction medicine. So, that’s taking care of patients with any addiction disorder, whether it’s smoking, alcohol, or opioids. The treatment for a patient who has an addiction is never straightforward; it’s always about trying to figure out what’s the best course of action for that particular patient in front of you at that point in time. Sometimes, that involves medicine. Sometimes, that involves motivational techniques and cognitive behavioral therapy. 

Addiction medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics ... How do all of these come together? 

The best way it all fits together under the umbrella of primary care. Primary care is the medical frontline for pediatric and adult patients. We are typically the first point of contact for these patients, and take care of their preventive, acute, and chronic medical needs, as well as coordinate specialist care if such care is needed. Much of what we do in primary care is to look after the overall health and wellbeing of patients. A big chunk of that is mental health. As a primary-care doctor, in addition to treating medical illness of the body, we also manage mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and uncomplicated bipolar disease. If you want to get a person on board with a treatment plan, it takes motivation techniques to get people to the point where they’re willing to engage in a certain therapy. It doesn’t always just happen because the doctor just says you should do it; many patients prefer to be part of the process. 

At BJU, what should people come to see you for?

Here, I’m part of the Family Medicine department and I very much still carry my hats as a pediatrician, an internist, and an addiction specialist. I’m hoping to become the primary-care doctor for children and adults, and if other physicians are taking care of patients with an addiction and they’re not sure what to do, that they can use me as a resource as well. 

What brings you to China?

This is my second time in China. When I was here in 2012, I worked for BJU in the Pediatrics department. The more immediate thing that keeps bringing me here is my wife. I follow my wife around and her research is based in China. The more long-term view of why we come here is that she’s Chinese-American and we decided that we valued having our children learn that side of their heritage, and it became important to us that they learn the language and understand Chinese culture. And then, when I married into her family, I felt that it was important that I learn Chinese and be a part of the culture as well. There are a lot of family reasons for making this our temporary home.

What do you do when you're not working? It sounds like you love traveling! 

Yes, I love to travel. Right now I spend most of my time chasing my five-year-old and my nine-year-old around and spending time with my family. That’s one of the big perks of being here, is that we have more free time. We’re a lot busier when we’re in the United States. So, that’s really nice! I like fly fishing, but I haven’t really found a venue for that now. Studying Chinese is another thing I spend a lot of time doing. My hope is that by the time we’re ready to leave China again, we’ll be fluent. I have no worries that my kids will pick it up – it’s their father that’s the problem. It’s a work in progress.

Dr. Donroe is a pediatrician, internist, and a specialist in addiction medicine. To make an appointment with him, call our service center at 4008-919191.

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