Get to Know Me
Dr. Okan Elidemir is the chief of pulmonary medicine at Nemours Children's Specialty Care, Pensacola, director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center and professor of pediatrics at Florida State University School of Medicine. He's an author of book chapters and peer-reviewed medical journal articles, an invited presenter and an active researcher.
Why I Treat Children
I love children. They are so innocent. In medical school, I was doing my rotation in pediatrics and there was a 7- to 8-month-old baby with bronchiolitis. She was having a hard time breathing, on oxygen, etc., and she smiled at me. Every time she saw me she smiled at me. She knew I was the one that was helping her breathe better. That really touched me. So I decided to go into pediatric pulmonary medicine and help kids breathe easier.
What I'm Passionate About
I'm passionate about delivering top-notch care in my own practice and departmentwide. I'm constantly seeking to include my patients and their families in making the decisions together about what care plan to follow. It really makes for the best results and helps the kids and their families be active in their care, which yields more success than just passively hearing what some doctor thinks.
How I Try to Make A Difference
As a department, we implement quality improvement projects every year to provide better and better care. And I'm proud to play a part in our Cystic Fibrosis Center, which is an independent, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited center.
