“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love for humanity.” – Hippocrates
Dr. Sofia De La Cruz is a bilingual board-certified family physician fluent in Spanish. She is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the American Medical Association. Dr. De La Cruz received her Doctor of Medicine from the American University of Antigua Medical School in Antigua and Barbuda. She completed her internship at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. De La Cruz completed her family medicine residency at Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, NY. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. Dr. De La Cruz is interested in disease prevention, women’s health care, and pediatric care. She is certified in contraception methods such as Nexplanon and IUDs.
After completing her undergraduate degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Dr. De La Cruz worked at the State of New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. As a forensic toxicology technician, she worked closely with many medical examiners and participated in many autopsies. Her interest in medicine began to develop while working at the medical examiner’s office and continued throughout my medical education. She got to go to South Africa with the International Scholar Laureate Program Delegation on Medicine. During this experience, she had the opportunity to visit rural health centers and learn more about the efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Dr. De La Cruz also learned how doctors strived to bring medical care to impoverished communities despite limited infrastructure and medical supplies. She decided to attend medical school to become a physician and help care for sick people. After graduating from medical school, she was fortunate to work at a low-income outpatient community clinic in the Bronx, NY. Here, she worked as a primary care physician with a NY-limited permit to practice medicine, which was during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. De La Cruz signed up for the New York City Medical Reserve Corps (NYC MRC), and during the peak of the pandemic, she was deployed to volunteer at Jacobi Medical Center. At Jacobi Medical Center, she worked as a house staff alongside the residents and attendings to help treat inpatient COVID-19-positive patients.
Dr. De La Cruz appreciates the significant role that doctors play in the lives of their patients and the importance of making the correct diagnosis to treat a patient properly. She has found that family medicine uniquely combines service, medicine, family, and community. She finds that having a career in family medicine and caring for families and communities is a great honor. When caring for patients, Dr. De La Cruz believes listening and taking a complete history of present illness (HPI) is crucial to being a physician. She says, “A comprehensive HPI allows me to gather detailed information about the patient’s symptoms, their onset, duration, and progression, which is essential for making an accurate diagnosis. Actively listening to patients helps build rapport and trust. Patients are more likely to share important information when they feel heard and understood. Understanding the patient’s experience and concerns enables me, the physician, to provide more personalized and effective care. By obtaining a detailed history, I can avoid unnecessary tests and procedures, thereby making more efficient use of medical resources.” Dr. De La Cruz finds one of the most rewarding aspects of being a physician and a powerful motivator is working closely with patients and witnessing them take control of their health and succeed.
Dr. De La Cruz was born in Peru and moved with her family to Long Island when she was ten. She fell in love with the outdoors and the diversity upstate NY offers, so she wanted to stay and work in this area. She also volunteers at various soup kitchens and the Bethesda House. Outside helping others, she loves hiking, scuba diving, water sports, biking, running, Spanish music, trying new restaurants, Broadway plays, and live music, including symphonies/orchestras.