Name: Dominic J. Herda, MD.
Age: 58
Where do you live?
Sacramento, CA, USA.
How many relatives do you have with BCM?
Three close relatives. My maternal grandfather, his brother (my great-uncle),
and a male cousin. I also have 2 or 3 male second cousins on my mother’s side
who have BCM, but I don’t know them.
What is your job?
I have been a board-certified psychiatrist for 29 years. I specialize in the
treatment of severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia. I currently work in an
outpatient clinic treating patients who have intellectual disabilities, autism,
cerebral palsy, and/or seizure disorders, who also are diagnosed with
schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality
disorder, OCD or some other severe mental illness. I have also worked in
psychiatric and medical hospitals, long-term locked psychiatric facilities, prison
systems, jail systems and private practice. I’ve been a department chief, a
medical director, twice I’ve been an assistant department chief. In the past, I
have been on volunteer faculty for three universities; UCDavis School of
Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine and California North State
University School of Medicine.
- I have a BS in psychology with a biology emphasis from University of
California, Davis - I have an MD from University of North Dakota School of Medicine
- I did my residency at the University of California, Davis Medical Center
Dept. of Psychiatry - I am board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
as a general psychiatrist
What are your hobbies?
- I listen to science fiction and fantasy books on Audible.
- Playing the video games that my eyesight lets me play.
- I do wood working.
- Building gaming computers.
- I used to go target shooting, rifle and pistol.
What is your most useful BCM tip?
Only you know what you can or cannot see. No teacher, optometrist,
ophthalmologist, etc. knows what you can perceive with your eyes. BCM is too
variable for even the experts to know what you can or cannot see. Don’t let
others prevent you from attempting to do something because they don’t think
you can see well enough to do it. Be bold and try new things. However, be very
honest with yourself about what you can see and do. Don’t attempt to do
something that you can barely see to do if it is not safe. When I was a medical
student, I first-assisted in many surgeries and performed many hospital
procedures. At the end of my 3 rd year in medical school Dean Olafson
commented that I had been able to do many more procedures than he thought I
was going to be able to do. I told the dean that I did what I knew I could do
safely. I also told him that I would never do any of those procedures again.
Because patients deserve a doctor that can do procedures well every day they
work, not just when the doctor’s eyesight barely lets them accomplish the
procedure. Be safe for yourself and others.
What would you tell younger BCM boys/your younger self?
Life is short, don’t waste it. Everyone has something about themselves that
could be better, don’t waste your time dwelling on it. If your eyesight isn’t good,
use your brain. For every person who treats you poorly because of your
eyesight, there is someone else out there who will assist/support you. When you
are young make big goals, you can pare down your goals when you get older. Be
ready to take advantage of opportunities that may be different from your goals.
Live your life, no one else is going to live it for you.
Greatest achievement/proudest moment so far…
My four sons and two grandchildren will always be my wife and my greatest
achievements. My greatest work achievements are two medical student
teaching awards. I have always loved teaching medical students. When I was
doing my residency at the UCDavis Medical Center in psychiatry, I received the
resident teaching award in 1994. This award was voted on by the UCDavis
School of Medicine third year class. In 2015 when I was volunteer faculty for
Drexel University School of Medicine, I received the Golden Apple Attending
Teaching Award. This was voted on by the Drexel School of Medicine third year
class.Not many people know this about me but..
My colleagues don’t know this, but my family does. I have a huge collection of
T-shirts with interesting, offensive and some obscene sayings on them. When
I’m not in the hospital or clinic, I wear jeans and a T-shirt with a saying on it.