I'm Colleen Druzgal. I'm a pediatric hematologist oncologist here at UVA.

I see patients that have all different types of pediatric cancers and a variety of blood conditions.

I was drawn to pediatrics from the very beginning because I love working with kids. And I think that when you're caring for a child who has a medical condition, like a cancer or a blood problem, they're innocent in all of that. They haven't done anything in their life to bring that on. And they still just want to be kids, and so, even when they have a terrible illness, you see kids playing, and smiling, and dancing, and wanting just to be kids. And I think that inspires you every day to come to work and want to do better for them.

A lot of times, when a family and a patient come to meet us for the first time, I think it can be a little bit scary because there's a lot of unknown and we're trying to figure out, is there a problem or a medical condition? And I think one of the things that is really rewarding about doing this job is being able to provide answers for patients and families.

I think what makes UVA really special is that we're a big enough institution and hospital that we really have folks who are conducting cutting edge research and trying to provide state-of-the-art care. We all work as a team to really take care of a patient together.