FACTS Teacher Series: Angela Maupin Kristan, MD
Accompaniment: A Missing Piece in Medicine?
By: Gracie Stotzer
Director’s Note: As part of our FACTS Teacher series, we highlight the diverse set of physicians and clinicians who contribute their time and expertise to help us educate the next generation of medical professionals via our FACTS elective. Our series concludes with Dr. Angela Maupin Kristan, a family physician trained in both the Creighton Model and Fertility Education and Medical Management (FEMM). Serving patients across the lifespan, from adolescent to geriatric patients, Dr. Kristan teaches us about the value of accompanying patients as a physician. At FACTS, we are grateful to Dr. Kristan for sharing her expertise as a monthly presenter for the FACTS elective. Learn more about Dr. Kristan by checking out her entry in the FACTS Physician/ Clinician Directory. If you are an FABM-trained medical professional or educator, please apply here to be listed on the directory and join our team of FACTS educators.
A 19-Year-Old’s Dream
As a sophomore in college, Dr. Angela Maupin Kristan knew she wanted to practice medicine, and she dreamed about utilizing fertility awareness in a clinical setting. Now, a practicing physician trained in multiple fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs), her dream has become a reality. However, the journey has been a circuitous one.
After finishing an undergraduate degree in microbiology, she decided to pursue graduate studies at a program that heavily emphasized bioethics and family. The coursework included information about FABMs. Dr. Kristan was familiar with FABMs from her college years — a friend and Creighton Model practitioner, Heidi Giroux, had introduced her to the medical applications of Creighton, also known as NaPro Technology.
Yet, medical school was still years away. After completing her Master’s, she worked for a local diocese and then as a teacher for several years. Finally, at 35 years old, Dr. Kristan began her medical training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, followed by residency at the University of Rochester’s Highland Family Medicine. During residency, she began formal training as a Creighton Medical consultant, and she is now trained in both Creighton and FEMM.
Varied Vocations, Yet a Common Calling
Dr. Angela Kristan is now a board-certified family physician and sees patients at Gianna Medical, serving women in Western and Central New York. As a prototypical family physician with multiple interests, Dr. Kristan also completed a fellowship in geriatrics at the University of Rochester and cares for patients and caregivers in their Memory Care Program.
“Sometimes it feels overwhelming,” she said. “It would be easier to focus on just one specialty… but there’s always a sense that I’ll receive what I need to serve patients and provide good care. It has felt demanding at times to do both, but it seems to be my vocation.”
For Dr. Kristan, her busy schedule and diverse patient population is “the best of both worlds.” She enjoys dividing her time between her two practices — half the week is spent serving patients suffering from dementia and various neurocognitive diseases, while the rest is devoted to the women she sees at Gianna Medical. Although the two populations look vastly different, Dr. Kristan noted the fundamental similarity between the needs of both: Whether a 72-year-old man living with dementia or a 27-year-old woman suffering recurrent miscarriages, both patients are in need of support — of accompaniment.
“Accompaniment is an aspect of medicine that gets overlooked,” Dr. Kristan said. “We spend so much time trying to fix things, but we sometimes fail to just accompany the patients. They can sense the difference. They know when they’re just seen as a ‘problem to fix.’”
“Accompaniment is an aspect of medicine that gets overlooked,” Dr. Kristan said. “We spend so much time trying to fix things, but we sometimes fail to just accompany the patients.”
A physician is called to compassion in the truest sense, she added, to “suffer with.” Dr. Kristan recounted the story of a patient in her 40s who came to her clinic after having undergone eight rounds of IVF and experienced three miscarriages within three years.
“She came so in need of support,” Dr. Kristan said. “Journeying with her to find health and restoration has made it all worth it — all of the years and studies spent developing a skill set as a physician.”
While the sad reality is that her patient may never have a child, Dr. Kristan was deeply impacted by the woman’s continued gratitude and constant thanks for Dr. Kristan’s presence and support in finding health again.
Dr. Kristan exemplifies the beautiful ministry of authentic healthcare. Any given day in her office might yield the joy of bringing new life into the world or the heaviness of accompanying a woman carrying the cross of infertility. At the root of her approach is a genuine investment in women’s health and flourishing, the promotion of cycle health, and the restoration of fertility when possible. She sees women across the ovarian continuum, and her training in both Creighton and FEMM serves her well in practice. However, she was quick to note that she does not do it alone. She is deeply grateful for the professionals who have mentored her over the years and to those like-minded physicians she’s established connections with who are similarly passionate about women’s health.
“At the root of her approach is a genuine investment in women’s health and flourishing, the promotion of cycle health, and the restoration of fertility when possible.”
“Everyone wants to see each other do well because it translates to better patient care,” Dr. Kristan said.
The Message of The FIfth Vital Sign
Like many women, Dr. Kristan wishes she had encountered FABMs sooner and could have taken the FACTS elective as a medical student. For this reason, she has made it part of her personal mission to promote evidence-based education in fertility awareness. Dr. Kristan was in residency when she first met Dr. Marguerite Duane, Executive Director of FACTS, and reached back out as soon as she finished residency to figure out how to get involved. Since then, she has trained as a FACTS speaker and become an invaluable friend of FACTS.
Dr. Duane is incredibly grateful for Dr. Kristan’s steadfast commitment to students.
“Angela is amazing,” Dr. Duane said. “Each month, she volunteers her time to teach our elective students how to read the female cycle chart, like they learn to read an EKG. Then she shows them how they can use that information to guide the diagnosis of common women’s health concerns.”
“Angela is amazing,” Dr. Duane said. “Each month, she volunteers her time to teach our elective students how to read the female cycle chart… (and) use that information to guide the diagnosis of common women’s health concerns.”
Dr. Kristan is just one piece of the puzzle. At FACTS, we are fortunate to have such talented faculty that willingly gives of their time to help educate the next generation of medical professionals. FABM-trained educators and practitioners both play a critical role in educating women about their own bodies and about the functioning of a healthy reproductive system.
“This is the message of the female cycle as the fifth vital sign,” Dr. Kristan said. “Rather than suppression, we really need to restore reproductive health.”
She encourages present and future healthcare professionals alike to consider the value of this transformative education in fertility: “What fertility awareness and restorative reproductive medicine really do is invite you, as a clinician, to take a deep dive into the physiology and pathologies and not simply swat at symptoms.”
Dr. Angela Kristan is a board certified family physician and originally hails from Oklahoma. She has a Masters in Theological Studies from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Dr. Kristan began her medical training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, completing her residency at the University of Rochester’s Highland Family Medicine. It was at that time that she began formal training as a Creighton Medical consultant, and she is now trained in both Creighton and FEMM. She now sees patients at Gianna Medical, serving women in Western and Central New York. A prototypical family physician with multiple interests, Dr. Kristan also completed a fellowship in geriatrics at the University of Rochester and cares for patients and caregivers in their Memory Care Program.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gracie Stotzer
Gracie Stotzer first joined FACTS as the Conference and Speaker Program Coordinator in the summer of 2021 and now serves as the Educational Programs Assistant. Upon graduation from Benedictine College with dual majors in psychology and Spanish, she traded out her native Albuquerque, NM for Sevilla, Spain to become an ESL instructor. While abroad, she began a crash course in fertility awareness to address her own health issues. Upon returning to the United States, she encountered FACTS and is delighted to now engage with students and FACTS speakers alike–including some of the very same doctors who saw her as a patient while abroad. Gracie now balances her FACTS responsibilities with graduate studies in human nutrition, fostering a growing interest in the intersection of the health of both people and the planet. Unsurprisingly, in her spare time, you can find her enjoying great food and the great outdoors!
