Meet Dr. Robert Bona
June 14, 2021Meet Dr. Robert Bona
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Information
Learn more about Dr. Robert Bona and his role in the Classical Hematology Program and the multidisciplinary approach involved in caring for patients.
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- 00:00My name is Robert Bona.
- 00:02I'm a hematologist in the
- 00:04section of hematology,
- 00:06here in the Department of Medicine,
- 00:08at the Yale Cancer Center.
- 00:10I work primarily in the classical,
- 00:12also known as benign hematology program,
- 00:15an in the hemophilia treatment center.
- 00:18Anne, I'm primarily involved in the care
- 00:20of patients who have blood disorders,
- 00:23namely those of excessive bleeding,
- 00:25excessive blood clotting,
- 00:27or those individuals who have
- 00:29abnormalities of some of the blood cells,
- 00:31such as anemia,
- 00:33low or low platelet counts,
- 00:35or individuals who have
- 00:36disorders of iron metabolism.
- 00:38I enjoyed caring for or being part
- 00:40of the care team for patients with
- 00:43blood disorders in medical school.
- 00:46I've always enjoyed looking at
- 00:48blood cells under the microscope.
- 00:50And studying blood calculation
- 00:52and blood clotting.
- 00:54Also I went to medical school in Syracuse,
- 00:58NY and at the time the hematologist
- 01:01there were among the most renowned
- 01:04individuals in their fields in the world,
- 01:08really so learning from
- 01:09them was truly inspiring.
- 01:11We care for patients and often.
- 01:16Nurses are involved in the care
- 01:18advanced practice providers and
- 01:20certainly other physicians,
- 01:21including those in lab medicine and
- 01:24transfusion medicine are important to
- 01:27the care of the patients I see as well
- 01:30as related specialties in medicine,
- 01:32surgery and radiology.
- 01:34So that that team approach is very,
- 01:37very important for for good
- 01:39care to our patients.
- 01:41I have always tried to be
- 01:44a compassionate physician.
- 01:45I recognized that it's so important
- 01:48to listen to individuals as they
- 01:51come into the office and that that
- 01:53skill of listening is something
- 01:56that is a lifelong skill.
- 01:58A skill that takes a life to to learn and,
- 02:02and I believe it's very,
- 02:05very important to develop that.
- 02:07To a significant degree,
- 02:08when patients come for their visit,
- 02:11I think it's really important
- 02:12that they have a sense of what
- 02:15they would like us to cover.
- 02:17So almost come with an agenda,
- 02:19and that might mean they want to discuss
- 02:22their diagnosis or they'd like to
- 02:24discuss treatment for their disease.
- 02:26Or perhaps they want to discuss
- 02:28diagnostic possibilities if a
- 02:30diagnosis has not yet been made.
- 02:31So I think primarily it's important
- 02:34that they come with a sense of
- 02:36what they would like us to cover.
- 02:39During the visit.
- 02:40It's also important to have
- 02:42complete medical records,
- 02:44so that's easier nowadays with
- 02:46the electronic medical record.
- 02:47But on occasion individuals will
- 02:49be referred to us from outside
- 02:52our system and getting adequate
- 02:54and complete medical records
- 02:56is also quite important to us.
- 02:58I think bringing a friend I
- 03:01family member a significant other
- 03:04is always a good thing to do.
- 03:06We often talk about significant
- 03:09health care issues.
- 03:10Sometimes the issues are complex and
- 03:12having another set of years to offer
- 03:15a different perspective perhaps.
- 03:17I think can be quite important.
- 03:20The research areas that are most
- 03:23interested in currently involve
- 03:24helping to evaluate new treatments for
- 03:27individuals with bleeding disorders or
- 03:30individuals with clotting disorders.
- 03:32I also hope in the future too.
- 03:35Make connections with some of the
- 03:38basic and physician scientists here at
- 03:40Yale to understand better some of the
- 03:43pathophysiology of the more complex
- 03:45diseases that we help take care of.