Purpose in Practice: Seeing the person behind the symptoms

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Patients often come to the hospital at moments when symptoms feel unfamiliar. Answers take time—and having a physician who listens and sees the whole person matters most.

For Natesha Ambs, MD, uncertainty is where her work and her purpose in practice begin. As an internal medicine hospitalist at AdventHealth Winter Park, she cares for patients at pivotal moments by listening closely, asking the right questions and bringing calm, curiosity and compassion when clarity matters most.

“I consider myself a Sherlock Holmes of medicine,” Dr. Ambs said. “People come in with symptoms, and we have to get to the answer. That’s my promise to the patient.”

In a fast‑paced inpatient setting, Dr. Ambs cares for patients during some of their most vulnerable moments.

While the role demands quick thinking and clinical precision, she says the most meaningful work happens face to face.

“The biggest thing I try to do is see the person for who they are and serve the human behind each case,” she said.

That commitment took shape long before she became a physician.

Dr. Ambs comes from a family of doctors, including her father, who helped establish the family medicine residency program she now works with at AdventHealth today.

She was about eight years old when she began accompanying her father on hospital rounds, quietly observing as he and his colleagues moved room to room, caring for patients and teaching future physicians.

One experience left a lasting impact. While on rounds, she watched her father care for a patient with a severe facial infection.

“It was shocking for me to see,” she said. “I didn’t want to look at the patient anymore, so I looked at my dad instead, at how he was reacting.”

What she noticed wasn’t fear or discomfort but compassion.

“I remember him being very compassionate, touching the patient and not being scared,” she said. “That inspired me to always just look at the person.”

Today, that legacy continues not only in how Dr. Ambs cares for patients, but in how she trains the next generation of physicians.

In addition to her work as a hospitalist, she serves as an academic attending with AdventHealth’s Graduate Medical Education program, guiding residents through inpatient care at AdventHealth Winter Park.

“Residents come out of medical school with a lot of knowledge,” she said. “But learning how to be a physician — how to connect and how to listen — that happens at the bedside.”

That same mindset guides her daily clinical practice.

Rather than rushing to conclusions, Dr. Ambs approaches each case like a mystery to be solved — piecing together clinical clues with something she considers just as essential: time spent listening.

“Giving patients time to talk is how I care for the whole person,” she said. “It’s how I understand what they’re carrying, not just what they’re experiencing physically.”

She often reflects on a verse that guides her perspective — a reminder to look beyond what can be seen. For Dr. Ambs, it’s the unseen moments of connection that leave the greatest impact.

“The touch, the listening, the (conversations) with families,” she said. “Those are the things that matter.”

At AdventHealth, physicians like Dr. Ambs bring whole‑person care to life every day, caring for patients not only through diagnosis and treatment, but through uncertainty, vulnerability and healing.

Her work reflects AdventHealth’s commitment to building a care environment where clinical excellence and human connection go hand in hand—ensuring patients feel seen, heard and supported at every step of their journey.

Learn more about internal medicine care at AdventHealth and explore other stories that highlight the people and purpose behind our care.