Meet the Team: Introducing Roxana Shaw, Restoration Healthcare’s Physician Assistant

As we are known in our field of functional and integrative medicine as a team with a whole-person care approach, we start with a biology–base systems foundation that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or diagnosis may be one of many contributing to a patient’s current state of health. This is why we often talk about the overlapping mechanisms associated with disease.

By the same token, the root cause of our success with treating our patients with complex health issues is the overlapping patient care approach of the people who work here, which now includes our practice’s new physician assistant, Roxana Shaw, MPAS, PA-C, CHC.

As Restoration Healthcare’s physician assistant, Roxana works directly with patients in support of our practice’s co-founder and chief medical director, Dr. Sunny Raleigh. As a professional practitioner, Roxana’s daily focus is on examining patients, interpreting lab and test results, offering treatment and education, and collaborating with our physicians on our patient’s needs and progress.

The end result is the high level of individualized patient care programs with instructional plans of care that are thoughtfully constructed and actively managed with each individual patient in mind.

Roxana was drawn to working at Restoration Healthcare because our philosophy of Mind-Body Medicine mirrored her own. Her own view of Integrative Healthcare combines conventional Western medicine training with her Eastern and Holistic medicine upbringing. And she is particularly attracted to our commitment that offers patients alternatives to traditional pharmaceuticals.

That belief in an unconventional approach to healing came about after one of her parents became ill. Her mother was misdiagnosed several times over the span of 12 months, and Roxana was puzzled why her mother was seen by some of the best conventional allopathic physicians and did not yet show improvement.

As a result, she began to really understand how broken the current medical model must be. Roxana, who holds a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies, said that this realization led her to  divert her attention away from conventional medicine and return to training in Mind-Body Medicine, Whole Health Medicine, and Functional Medicine.

She discovered that finding other like-minded providers who shared her vision was a challenge until she met the team here at Restoration Healthcare. Describing our staff as “being on the forefront of changing how healthcare is practiced,” Roxana now enjoys the benefits of being part of a team of healthcare and medical support professionals that work together to understand and treat the root cause of each person’s symptoms, while offering them additional healthy lifestyle-focused programs to supplement their care, recovery and full health restoration where possible.

Born and raised in New York City, Roxana lived in Iran as an adolescent, and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Farsi. She received her master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and her undergraduate degree in Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, in Madison, N.Y.

Roxana is married and has two teen-aged children — a 17-year-old daughter and a son who is 13.

Her professional affiliations include membership in the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, the California Academy of Physician Assistants, and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Her professional training includes continuing education in the areas of Mind-Body Medicine, Compassionate Inquiry, and Women’s Functional & Integrative Medicine.

How accessible is Roxana at Restoration Healthcare? Here are a few helpful suggestions for new clients and existing patients:

• If you have been on a waiting list and are unable to see a Restoration Healthcare doctor for an initial visit within the next month or so — book your initial appointment with Roxana.
• If you are interested in starting an IV therapy program or see if an IV protocol is right for you, or if you’re interested in a Zerona Laser treatment program or a health nutrition program, start with a work-up consultation with Roxana.
• If you are interested in an InBody consultation or supplementation to enhance your existing plan of care, Roxana will intervene with our doctors for your convenience and benefit.
• And as a follow-up to Dr. Raleigh’s patients, Roxana is your go-to person for scheduling follow-up visits.

And now for a few fun questions for our favorite physician assistant:

Restoration Healthcare: What are some of the hobbies you pursue in your free time?

Roxana: I pour love on my family, creatively and passionately cook, practice dancing Argentine tango, blast Latin music, and geek out on cookbooks and travel books.

RH: What’s your favorite restaurant in town — the one you return to time after time and year after year?

Roxana: While I’m still a newbie in Orange County, I’ve sampled many different restaurants and haven’t quite found a ‘fave’ just yet. But that could just be because I’m a bit biased, having been raised on home-cooked healthy foods. I love my own kitchen! When dining out, I try to never order the same dishes over and over – variety is the spice of life. In New York, my favorite must-once-a-month joint is a tiny pizzeria that has been run by the same family for more than 40 years.

RH: What is something people would be surprised to know about you? 

Roxana: I was one of the Founding Sisters of a sorority, and my drink of choice is heavily peated single-malt scotch from Islay (the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland).

RH: A penguin walks through the door wearing a sombrero. What does she say and why is she there?

Roxana: Ha! The penguin says “Taco-taco-tao!” (Spanish slang/humor that translates to “Taco esta acostado” (Taco is sleeping). It’s something silly that lots of non-Mexican Latinos say when enjoying tacos. So, I guess the penguin is expecting a taco buffet!

RH: What is your favorite quote of all time, and who first uttered those words? 

Roxana: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  ~ French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin