Roberta Erena, MD

Taking her own advice and becoming a physician

As a teacher and academic adviser at the University of Kentucky in the late 1970s, Dr. Erena counseled many pre-med students before taking her own advice and enrolling in the university's medical school.

"I didn't start medical school until I was 30," says Dr. Erena, whose earlier career included obtaining a master's degree in educational philosophy.

After earning her medical degree in 1982, Dr. Erena completed internal medicine specialty training at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then completed her cardiology fellowship at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. She practiced cardiology for nearly 20 years in Cincinnati and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Erena's association with BMC began in 2005, when she accepted a temporary assignment with the hospital's cardiology department. She gladly accepted another such assignment at BMC a few months later.

"I hadn't realized that Berkshire County is such a cultural mecca," she says. "I liked the area and the hospital so much that I was eager to stay."

An avid gardener and cook - she subscribed to Gourmet magazine at the age of 19 - Dr. Erena's hobbies also include travel, psychology and the study of human behavior. She and her husband have grown children.