Medicine is not the only thing well-rounded University doctor Sharon Hostler prescribes. With a broad range of interests and hobbies, she advises students to "take the time to enjoy the journey, not just the destination."
Hostler, the medical director at Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) here in Charlottesville, also is a professor of pediatrics at the University Medical School.
With a look of nostalgia on her face, Hostler referred to college as a "banquet table of opportunities" from which students should "enjoy classes and recognize that the clock is artificial."
Hostler received the Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award this February, an award the University gives annually to one woman at the University based on her contributions to the community.
Hostler sat in her office, wearing a long black dress, a red cardigan sweater and Birkenstocks. Recently purchased paintings lay around the office, waiting to be hung on the center's walls.
The busy, colorful scenes in the paintings depicted cars and people, which she said were entertaining for children and enhanced the atmosphere of KCRC. She said she always has been interested in art and loves to sketch with the new art supplies that were a Christmas gift from her son.
"One of my retirement goals is to paint rocks and sell them at the city market," she said with a smile.
So what would she be doing if she had not pursued medicine? Even though Hostler knew she wanted to be a doctor, she always had an interest in teaching English and writing. In addition to her chemistry studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, she took several English classes, and she said that one of her goals in life now is to get to write the end page in the New Yorker or the Sunday New York Times. The doctor keeps a journal and said she looks forward to a time when she can take classes in English and writing.
She paints, she writes, she has devoted her life to helping people, but it doesn't stop there.
An avid reader, Hostler said she brings 25 books along on her yearly three-week vacations to Italy. She always has a book by her bed. She reads and "suspends all responsibilities with no guilt and no deadlines."
Hostler takes care not to get burnt out during the daily grind and treats herself to a weekly massage - a tradition that started when her friends bought her a year's worth of facials, manicures, massages and pedicures for her birthday one year. She advises students to pay attention to their physical well-being.
Hostler is also an avid tennis player. She meets with two groups each week to play. Her tennis partners and other groups of close friends provide her with a lot of laughter, which she said is the cure for stress. Smiling, she said a person should have at least 400 hugs per week and laugh at least 400 times per week.
Hostler is a strong advocate of women in the medical field and said that in a field created by men, "There are more, but still not enough, women."
She admitted she really does enjoy the traditional domestic arts, though. She and her husband love to entertain. One of her most enjoyable days recently was spent arranging flowers for their New Year's Eve dinner party this past year.
Looking back on her college experience, Hostler described herself as a "wild woman," wincing and laughing as she recalled the risks she took and the fun she had in college.
She said she golfed and hiked and went skiing every single day at a nearby resort, a luxury afforded by Middlebury College's Vermont location.
But in medical school she said she gave up a certain amount of social activities for her studies.
"It felt like you suspended yourself as a social person," Hostler said.
Of her career, she said finding the balance between her professional and personal life was a struggle, as she put in the 80-hour weeks required in order to become successful. But, as she said with a smile, "I have also taken the time to play."
Although pediatrics was not the field Hostler originally thought she would pursue, she became hooked on kids after working with them during her third year of medical school.
"The kids keep me going," she said, "They are resilient, hopeful and flexible. If you do a little right, you fix them!"
Hostler said she works with many adolescent athletes who have, as she put it, incredible wisdom and drive, as if they are "programmed to be healthy."
Other than the children, Hostler said the most pleasurable part of her work is being part of a team of doctors, specialists and students who all come together to take care of the children.
Hostler's action and motivation do not go unnoticed by others at KCRC.
"She provides a model for hard work, creativity, and balance," said Asst. Prof. of Pediatrics Janet Allaire, who has worked with Hostler at KCRC since 1972.
Kevin Elgin, an operations analyst at the center, described her as a thoughtful, caring, committed individual who has been known to bring cakes to work on special occasions or to take her coworkers out to lunch.
Hostler said the drawbacks of medicine are that "it is a regulated profession and it doesn't feel professional anymore." With billing papers and other documentation, she will spend three hours on paperwork on a given day.
Advice for struggling pre-med students? Hostler said, "Health is more than just medicine; there are other ways to be part of the team as nutritionists, nurses, pharmacists or physical therapists."
She said the path to a medical career is laid out in a straight line, but one should leave room to meander because the zigs and zags along the way are the most fun.
Reflecting on all she has done and still does today, Hostler said, "Follow all the dreams ... time is on your side." That is the kind of medicine anyone and everyone can use.
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