Backed by more than four decades of experience, Mary Frances Gardner has excelled as a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology. Her main responsibilities are working with young women to fulfill their health and contraceptive needs, and she is proud to be using her talents to make a difference, despite the climate of hostility around contraception. All of the patients that call and thank her motivate her to push forward and continue her efforts, and make her job all the more gratifying.
Dr. Gardner initially became involved in the field because of her mother’s best friend, who was a physician. When she asked about the field, her mother’s best friend gave her some advice that stuck with her: that medicine is more about perseverance than brains, and that getting up everyday excited to work means never really working all. Taking those words to heart, Dr. Gardner set out to achieve her dreams, earning an MD from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1966. She has since learned a lot of valuable lessons, like the fact that most obstacles are just preconceptions and that communications are in the ear of the hearer. She used that knowledge as the building blocks of her practice, which is currently based in New Orleans, La.
Looking to the future, Dr. Gardner hopes to be remembered for her competency and caring.