Joseph T. Breen, M.D.

I'm Joe Breen. I'm an Otolaryngologist and an Otologist here at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. When patients come to visit me, I think it's important that they know I'm on a problem solving journey with them. So part of the visit is figuring out their symptoms, figuring out what their tests look like, looking at their imaging, looking at their ear. But really, it's about what problem are they trying to fix? Are they trying to hear their grandkids? Are they wanting to go back in the water because every time they go swimming, they get an ear infection? So once I know what problem they're trying to solve, I'm much better at helping them fix it. One of the most rewarding things about practicing medicine is that it's always changing. There are always new discoveries. There's always new ways of thinking about the problems that we've been trying to solve for years. And that means I'll never get bored with what I do. I'll always have a new set of problems to treat. I'll always have new diagnoses to think about and learn about, and it'll always be a rewarding and interesting thing to pursue for the rest of my career. Many of my early experiences in medicine were actually within my own family. My dad is a physician and worked at the Mayo Clinic for many years. I saw great examples of how to care for people. Also, people who really enjoyed their work. If someone's considering coming to the Mayo Clinic, I want them to know that if they come to see me, they're going to have someone who's on their team, who's going to help them solve their problems.