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When Linda Guydon was a child, her grandmother told her she had “healing hands.” “I see it in you,” Guydon recalls her grandmother saying. “You will heal people one day.”
“Growing up, I was always interested in science, but I thought I might become a paleontologist. I didn’t think of becoming a doctor until I was in college,” recalled Guydon, who this month was named to Atlanta magazine’s Atlanta’s Top Doctors list. Guydon, who practices at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma’s Johns Creek and Northlake offices, is among nine physicians from Atlanta Allergy & Asthma named in Atlanta magazine’s July issue.
Atlanta magazine reports that it uses a database of top doctors compiled by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a healthcare research company based in New York, to assist in its annual effort. Doctors are nominated for consideration through both a nationwide survey and a peer nomination process. Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers then select the Top Doctors through what the magazine describes as “a rigorous screening process that includes an evaluation of educational and professional experience.” This year the publication honors 1,002 physicians practicing in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Hall, Forsyth, Cherokee, and Rockdale counties.
Guydon, a multi-year recipient of Top Doctor honors, said as an undergraduate student at Mercer University in Macon she was chosen for a program that took 100 minority students from across the country to Harvard University for two semesters of science-focused study. “Even then, I was thinking of going into physical therapy. It was not until they had me shadow a physician that I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
After graduating from Mercer, Guydon was accepted at Harvard Medical School and after graduation completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital. “I was fascinated by immunology,” she recalled, “but that field was in its infancy at the time; there were very few immunology programs in the country in the 1980s and ‘90s. Most of the physicians specializing in immunology were pediatricians, and I knew that wasn’t what I wanted.”
Although as a child in a military family Guydon had lived several places growing up, she spent most of her formative years in Georgia and knew that she wanted to practice in Georgia. She found the spot she was looking for at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, where Medical Director David D. Tanner said he is honored to have on staff Guydon and others recognized as Top Doctors.
Linda Guydon was chosen to this year’s Atlanta’s Top Doctors list by Atlanta magazine.
“At Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, we strive to craft a team of physicians dedicated to operating with integrity and high standards in order to improve the lives of our patients,” he said in an announcement from his practice. “This recognition certainly helps bring awareness to the significance of our specialty.”
Guydon said selection to Atlanta magazine’s Top Doctors list is not her only confirmation that she chose the right profession. “I feel validated when other doctors refer complex cases to me and they and the patients are pleased at the outcome,” she said, adding that one of things she likes best about her specialty is that is offers the opportunity to improve the quality of people’s lives.
Atlanta Allergy & Asthma reported comments the practice has received about Guydon:
“Love, love, LOVE Dr. Guydon! She’s warm and comfortable, yet so highly competent. I’m so happy I was referred to Atlanta Allergy & Asthma. Absolutely delighted with her, and her support staff,” one patient said.
Another said, “Dr. Guydon is one of the most caring and thorough specialists you’ll ever meet. She takes the time to listen, educate, and develop treatment plans that are simply life changing. She has a tremendous respect for the care and wellbeing of her patients, and it shows.”
“I love Dr. Guydon. She is knowledgeable. She is empathetic and she makes you feel comfortable in her presence. The most important thing is that she listens. I know that my son and I will be taken care of properly. Thank you Dr. Guydon for taking such good care of me and my son,” said another patient.
Another commented, “I have seen Dr. Guydon at both the Johns Creek office and the Northlake office. She and her staff are wonderful! They take the time to listen and really take care of you. I will drive anywhere she is in Atlanta to see her even if it is out of the way! She is worth it.”
Read the original story on TheChampionNewspaper.com.
