Gastroenterologist Joins Mercy

Dr. Faiza Bhatti grew up as the eighth child in a family of 10 kids with a life she describes as full of love, laughter, adventure and passion. She learned from her parents and siblings to live each day to its fullest and be your own competition, which to her means always trying to be a better person than she was before. For her, happiness comes from within - it’s your job to keep yourself happy by finding what makes you happy and keeping at it.

Dr. Bhatti is married with three kids and a cat – and she is absolutely crazy about all of them. She says they keep her driven and entertained, and they give her reason to be thankful every day. She loves reading books and watching lots of TV, and for her, a bad day is one where she couldn’t make someone laugh.

Dr. Bhatti is a gastroenterologist who recently joined Mercy at Mercy Clinic Gastroenterology – 10012 Kennerly at Mercy Hospital South and Mercy Clinic Gastroenterologist – Jefferson at Mercy Hospital Jefferson.

Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?

No, I wanted to be an anchor/host of a TV show. My father persuaded me to become a doctor. I think he knew it would bring out the best of me. To tell you the truth, I was not thrilled by the idea at first, but today I thank him every day. I couldn’t be happier doing anything else. I truly love what I do.

What drew you to your specialty?

The complexity yet the simplicity of gastroenterology. I wanted to be a surgeon but didn’t want to spend long hours in the operating room, and I didn’t want to give up art of medicine either. The GI field provides a good balance.

What made you want to join Mercy?

Mercy is an ideal combination of faith and science, which matches my idea of providing care to my patients. When you mix the magic of modern medicine and power of prayer, miracles do happen. At Mercy, the patient is always the top priority. I can do the right thing and be the good doctor that I always wanted to be yet have an excellent work-life balance.

Any conditions or treatments of special interest to you?

My passion and sub-specialty training are in the field of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately, these are life-long conditions which can take a toll on the patient’s life. But, with the right medicine and following the right guidance, these patients can live a healthy and normal life. It’s extremely rewarding to see my patients do well and to take the walk with them from point A when they are miserable and scared of these diseases to point B when they thrive and achieve their life goals because they stay in remission. I thank God every day for providing me this opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.