This year, pediatrician Laura Bledsoe, MD, celebrates 24 years with The Portland Clinic — which is very lucky for us and our patients, considering that she hadn’t planned to become a doctor in the first place.

It wasn’t until her senior year at Reed College that she started to become interested in women’s health, and a mentor urged her to consider medical school. “When I told a longtime friend that I was going to apply, he told me he’d always known I’d be a doctor,” says Dr. Bledsoe, “which came as a big surprise to me!”

In medical school at Oregon Health & Science University, she was leaning toward becoming an OB/GYN when she made another discovery: “I realized that, for me, the baby was the most interesting part of that specialty,” she says, “so I pivoted to pediatrics.”

The past 24 years have soundly confirmed that she made the right choice. “It’s a privilege to take care of kids from their newborn visits in the hospital to their pre-college physicals,” says Dr. Bledsoe. “Watching my patients grow and develop their own interests, passions, senses of humor, and plans for the future is incredibly rewarding. And most days I get to share a few good belly-laughs with them, which is good for my health.”

Today, Dr. Bledsoe not only sees patients in our Beaverton and Tigard offices, but also serves as the medical director of our Beaverton office. She enjoys spending time with her colleagues both inside the office and out, and she appreciates having specialists just down the hall who are always happy to help with her patients.

In her free time, Dr. Bledsoe enjoys cooking, knitting and biking. “Better add that I love to read,” she says, “or I’m sure to hear from all the young patients whom I bug about reading at every visit!”