Stella Awua-Larbi is a nephrologist with more than 15 years of experience in private practice at Kidney Care Center in the Chicagoland area, where she also holds a hospital affiliation with Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, Illinois. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, completing her internal medicine residency at Loyola University Medical Center and her fellowship at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
A 2023 recipient of the Physician Leadership Excellence Award, Awua-Larbi is known for her ability to listen deeply and connect with patients as they navigate the complexities of their illness. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation of physicians.
Her debut book, The Other Side of the Bed: A Physician's Journey Into the Human Side of Medicine, explores humanizing patients beyond the chart. Part reflective narrative, it advocates for patient-centered care while reminding health care workers of the sacred, rewarding nature of walking alongside patients at life's crossroads. She shares her writing on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
“I just don’t feel well,” she says. “I’m tired all the time.”
The patient is sitting across from you in clinic. She struggles to describe exactly what is wrong. There is no specific pain. No new shortness of breath. No fever. Nothing that immediately points you toward a diagnosis. It is a vague and broad symptom, almost an enigma.
You turn toward the computer screen. The laboratory results are reassuring. Most of …
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Persistent symptoms despite normal labs deserve attention
I never considered myself dismissive or noncaring. I entered medicine with a genuine desire to help, to make a difference, to care and to change outcomes. Like so many of my colleagues, my “why” had the same core message, rooted in the same simple truth: I love science and I care about people.
But somewhere between the first day of medical school and the years that followed, something changed. Not the …
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The person behind the diagnosis every chart hides
