Meet Randy Naidoo M.D. of Shine Pediatrics and Wellness Center and Tri Child in Richardson and Frisco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randy Naidoo M.D.

Randy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
First, The Lord is good. My life could have taken some interesting turns as I was born and raised in Garland, Texas. I am thankful that I am alive and that I have a wife who was my girlfriend from my senior year of high school at South Garland. She has been my side through the thick and thin.

With my story, there is no fear of failure or of not having. I have come from humble beginnings and as a first-generation American, my parents have always taught me to cherish the opportunities and to make the most of them. My mother and father taught me about a “tough” work ethic and to always show up, and they taught my brothers and I this, not so much from telling us but by showing us in how they lived their lives personally and in their jobs.

My dream was to play football in the NFL and that is how my journey took me to the University of Miami Florida where I walked on and played under Butch Davis and my position coach Chuck Pagano, now head coach for the Indianapolis Colts. The experience in Miami helped me understand the level of commitment needed to make it as collegiate athlete but also the sacrifice some of my teammates made to make it to the next level, the NFL. Fortunately, my father told me that if I were to stay at Miami that I needed to keep my grades up to maintain my academic scholarship or I was coming home. So while taking 21 hours a semester and being a D-1 athlete, I took care of business and graduated with Honors in Biomedical Engineering. While the NFL was not calling my name, medical school did as I fortunately did well on my MCAT. As a result, I knew that my future in medicine was going to be with children because that is where I get my energy. The youth football clinics and working at the Boys and Girls Club as well as my own personal experiences as a young adult gave me confidence that children was at the heart of the matter. I could have made prosthetics for children to being a child counselor but I knew that kids was where my life would take me. As I started medical school, pediatrics was my only option. As well I did on my USMLE and my transcripts, I could have done a more prestigious residency in another field but pediatrics, that was me. I used my fourth year of medical school as my internship year of residency. I had a full year ahead of many of my pediatric resident colleagues. I learned a ton my fourth year of medical school in pediatrics.

As residency started, I was very fortunate to do it in my hometown of Dallas. I was able to forge amazing relationships with colleagues that have lasted until today. I believe that some of my colleagues while not knowing my out-of-the-box thinking in pediatrics, respect me and the fact that I am here to advocate for the child and their family.

After completing residency, I had to fulfill my active duty commitment as a pediatrician to the Air Force. It was one of the best times in my life to delve into pediatrics without the pressures of a private practice or academic setting where other goals and initiatives would have to be met. I could practice pediatrics the way I wanted as the sole pediatrician as Dyess AFB. I was able to manage most of the behavioral illnesses in our pediatric population and manage both psychotropic medications along with referrals to therapist in the community. I was able to cut down on the number of referrals to the off-base child psychiatrist whose goal was to put children on medications. That was not nor is it today my goal to put children on medication unless absolutely necessary.

I was also the allergy extender for Dyess AFB and that allowed me to become knowledgeable on the management of allergies and asthma which I have brought now to private practice to help cut down on the number of referrals to Allergist and Pulmonologist. In addition, I was the officer in charge of the vaccine clinic. This helped to open my eyes to the world of vaccines and the number of adverse events noted along with respecting the fact that side effects are real and sometimes significant. It prepared me for the life of vaccines in pediatrics and to help families truly understand their concerns and navigate the crazy world of immunizations and the huge amount of vaccines that are on the CDC schedule. Residency can only teach you so much about vaccines as we are inundated with so much information in pediatric care. Our limited time in understanding vaccine physiology and its physical makeup of ingredients limits us as practicing professionals to truly have knowledgeable discussion about it with our patients. I am fortunate my past experiences have equipped me during this era of pediatrics when vaccines have become such a controversial topic. At SHINE, we like to have balance in this discussion and understand that both, pro-vaccine by the CDC schedule and no vaccines at all, come with risks. We must accept that truth that there are risks with both sides of the spectrum.

In 2010, I was able to return home to Dallas to be with my wife and children and start the practice of medicine in Dallas. I am appreciative of Dr. Deborah Bain allowing me to practice in her office and allowing me to practice medicine the way I saw it to be. Her freedom allowed me to really see the benefits of my integrative approach and the positive outcomes that were occurring.

And in 2012, with God’s will, I was able to start SHINE out of a birthing center from a good friend of mine. Her graciousness was the foot hold for some of my patients to continue to see me on a cash basis since I was not credentialed yet on health insurances plan. I saw patients there 3 days a week and it grew from just 1 patient on my first day to some days having 15-20 patients. I did it all then, from scheduling, front office, back office, to seeing the patient and then checking them out. It gave me more insight into the total patient visit from front to back which many of my colleagues do not appreciate and which directly impacts patient care.

I have also been very humbled as an entrepreneur of having to finding other job opportunities to bridge my income gap as I started my own practice. I understand that level of commitment and sacrifice that some will never understand in medicine. Kudos to my colleagues who have done it the way I have because you know what true medicine is…. not just seeing the patient but understanding the process to get that patient in the room and how to get them out and everything in between. Some complain about medicine and why they chose the profession, but for me, I love every moment of it. I love the children, I love the adventure of learning, not just medicine but how to be an effective owner of a thriving company that has gone from one employee in October of 2012 to now over 35 presently.

And what does today look like for SHINE and TRI CHILD, SHINE is growing with our approach to balance of traditional and alternative approaches and our SHINE STANDARD is what sets us apart from other conventional and natural healthcare operations. Our STANDARD is unique and I cannot put my finger on all of it. We have done an amazing job in social media without the exorbitant cost of search engine optimization companies that would have put my small business in the red had I used one of them and forging long lasting relationships with important networks and we have built trust in the community which is seen by the numerous word of mouth recommendations from new patients as well as the comments made from many of our established patients to the amazing job that Nurse Practitioner Christie Potter has done to invest time and energy into appreciating that the experience in the office itself is critical to the care of the patient.

We have a lot of moving parts at SHINE but we have done a great job refining our process and being open to change. Change is going to happen and we want it to happen.

We all at times feel a little vulnerable with change because it makes us all a little incompetent but incompetence is good because it forces you to learn.

We love our families because we have some who know what they want and they have done their research about our practice, their child’s condition, and they want honest answers. There was a time in medicine that us physicians had all the knowledge from our training and our textbooks that were behind our desk but now that material is open sourced on the internet and is available to the masses. The patient may not be a physician but some will know what questions to ask or ask questions that will help satisfy their curiosity. The ability to partner with the patient and family in the medical decision is critical in outpatient medicine and if we do not appreciate this fact, we will lose our patients trust. I think that is the number one reason I see SHINE grow exponentially is because the family has lost trust in the medical system. We have done a poor job of validating the patient’s concern or we have sent them in tangents without their health improving. There are some physicians who are changing the trajectory of a patient’s health but for many, the approach is of being a bystander or an air traffic controller instead of the pilot of the patient’s health.

I think we have done a phenomenal job of being in the cockpit and understanding the controls and signals to control the health of our patients and we look forward to flying to new levels with our patients at SHINE. We want to continue to be a beacon of light to the broken and unbroken pediatric lives in the DFW area. As the Lord has given us discernment in how to practice medicine, may we SHINE that light on others.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As previously noted, the road was never smooth. Some of the struggles if spoken in too much depth may cause some not to come see me. I believe that whether the struggles be personal or even professionally, I have learned what true forgiveness is and that has allowed me to be truly free in my walk of life.

Every day, someone is going to accuse you of something or say something negative. As I heard one time, any time your territory expands, you are naturally going to tread on someone else’s. When this happens, an enemy is created that was never intended. I hope and pray that as these moments happen, my prior experiences along with my current mentors and close intimate circle of advisors and friends along with my brothers, mom and my in-laws and my wife, right decisions can be made for the welfare of the child that God has created for a unique purpose and plan.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
As said before, SHINE stands for balance in natural and conventional healthcare for children while displaying it in a manner that puts the patient at the center of it. Its hard to practice medicine in an individual manner when so much pressure is placed on seeing patients at a high volume per hour along with so many guidelines from health insurance companies to our major medical associations. The policies put forth in medicine since the late 1990s have pushed us to try and lump patients in large groups and to make effective decisions from a population health standpoint instead of looking at that one patient in front of you. I’m a science guy but when you look at these well designed controlled studies, no matter how you want to slice it, you cannot control every variable.

You cannot control what a patient eats, when they sleep, what their social economic status is, their mental state from day to day and the numerous other variables that come with living life. So while a certain intervention might be effective for 98 out of 100. What about the other 2? You have to do something different. That is intense for medicine.

That shakes us to our core because the volume we try to do in healthcare goes completely against it. Every healthcare administrator or CEO wants so much automation because that equals dollars. And do not be fooled, that is the agenda of every big healthcare entity from the government to the private sector, save money or make money. At SHINE, we would like to make money too but our drive is the health of the child. In pediatrics, interventions from medication prescription to vaccines to visits drive dollars. Some times, the wait and see approach or doing things from a natural bent, change the way dollars are generated. It is a paradigm shift and many healthcare businesses for pediatrics will not be and are not ready for the change because it would destroy their financial projections and budgets. We again at SHINE started out this way and we understand our financial commitments and so our model works for us. It cannot work for another unless it is brand new and ready to begin this journey.

We are known as an integrative pediatric practice but our story is more than just how we practice medicine but it is more about the core of our beginning along with what we have done in the financial market along with how we have developed our employees.

That is really what makes us SHINE. There will likely be other holistic pediatric practices that will come up along the way and I truly wish them well but we have some intangibles that we will never put our finger on, I like to say that’s Gods presence and other tangibles that we will figure out as we expand our scope in the business arena of medicine.

What were you like growing up?
Those younger years is who I am now.

I am the oldest of three brothers. I was the one that my father impressed upon the most about being a good role model to my younger siblings. It was me that had to represent the Naidoo name well. I began the reputation at school that stood when my brothers walked through those same doors.

I was never the most athletically gifted so whatever I was able to gain over the course of my athletic career, I worked my tail off more than most. If it says anything about my physical lack of prowess, in 6th grade, I made all As in every class except PE. I had to take tutorials for PE.

That process of sports and being an athlete and recognizing the importance of the “work” helped me to keep my weight at the same amount from about 7th grade to where I am now. Sports in so many ways helped me not only physically but mentally it prepared me for future failures and successes. As quickly as things go your way, the next moment its horrible.

But as I have been in the workforce, the biggest biggest biggest thing is that the workforce is a team. If you grew up not being apart of a team or organization over the course of many years, you do not know what it means to be accountable to your fellow man. And you cannot figure it out later on. You have to be in the environment and you have to know what it means to show up. Most of the employees that I have seen be successful at SHINE and who are liked by their peers are the ones who show up.

Perfect school attendance. You see all these children get awards at school for being the best in academics or sports or band or whatever, but then the principal says, the award for perfect attendance goes to like just 1 or 2 kids. Those 1-2 kids will be successful in life. No if, and, buts about it.

If I could give my children any personality trait, that’s it. Show up. Put in work every day and God will give the increase.

I could speak about all of my interest and hobbies but those things have evolved as priorities have changed. I love to read articles on medicine that pertain to integrative medicine, sports medicine and pediatrics. I love to workout when my kids and wife are not making run across town and back with all the hustle and bustle in the Naidoo household and love to spend time with my wife, children and my mother and brothers. If I can do that, then life is good for me. I don’t need any expensive hobbies or interest.

In the Meyers Briggs, my personality test says I am pretty unique. I think I figured that out once I got to medical school. I realized, like man I am really different from everyone else. And I was like, okay, that’s good, look where it has taken you. But it wasn’t until my Air Force days and I went to a John Maxwell seminar on leadership did I really figure out something about me. It was during that time that Jesus Christ changed my life also, the summer of 2006.

Contact Info:

• Address: Richardson Office: 3600 Shire Blvd., Suite 110, Richardso,n TX 75082
  Frisco Office: 3535 Victory Group Way, Suite 305, Frisco, TX 75034
• Website: www.shinepediatrics.com | www.trichild.org | http://www.teamsafeapp.com
• Phone: 214-919-1774 (office) , 42-42-NAIDOO (424-262-4366), 469-333-1KID(1543) (medical)
• Email: trichild@gmail.com
• Instagram: shinepediatrics ntx_knights_football_academy
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/randy.naidoo.1 | https://m.facebook.com/ShinePediatrics https://m.facebook.com/3TriChild
• Twitter: @RandyNaidoo @TRI_CHILD @shinepediatrics
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shine-pediatrics-and-wellness-center-richardson  | https://www.yelp.com/biz/shine-pediatrics-frisco-2
• Other: www.pinterest.com/shinepediatrics

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