Growing up in New Jersey, Dr. Michael Sciarra had no aspirations of becoming a physician. No one in his family had gone into the medical field. In fact, after starting as a paperboy at 13 years old, he began making good money cutting lawns, which eventually turned into a flourishing landscaping business. Before he knew it, he had about 60 to 70 accounts, which he carried into college.
He was attending Rutgers University in 1985, thinking of being a lawyer, when a guidance counselor changed the course of his career path. The counselor pointed out that Dr. Sciarra had enough science credits to be a pre-med major.
“He said, ‘Have you considered medicine?’ I said, ‘No, I have never thought about it,’” he recalls. Dr. Sciarra, who enjoyed the subject matter, began to consider it.
“I said, ‘You know what, why not? Let me give it a shot,’” he says. “I looked at the pathway that I had to take and the obstacles I had to overcome, and I saw it as a challenge and something that I grew to really enjoy.”
Read More: Out of the White Coat: Kimberly Bean, FNP-C
Changing Directions and Finding a Path Forward
Dr. Sciarra switched his major to pre-med and then applied to medical school. Following residency and a fellowship, he established a gastroenterology practice in 1997, just 15 miles from where he grew up in Teaneck.
“Everything I did was within the radius of where I grew up,” says Dr. Sciarra.
As an Italian American, who spent every Sunday going to his grandmother’s house for pasta, being near family was important, as well as setting roots.
“You stay in the game, and your roots get planted deeper and deeper and deeper until something changes,” he says.
For Dr. Sciarra, that change came earlier this year from the realization that after 26 years of running his own practice, he wanted a better work-life balance. He and his wife, Christine, raised five children together in a blended family and were now empty nesters with their children out of college. They were tired of the long winters and thinking about where they wanted to retire. They were ready to plant new roots.
“What we decided to do was find a place where we thought retirement would be good but not retire, and make friends, establish ourselves in a community and create a sense that we’re part of the fabric as opposed to trying to make friends at 70 years old on the golf course,” says Dr. Sciarra.
Beaufort fit that picture. Dr. Sciarra joined Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group – Specialty Care in June as a gastroenterologist.
‘Having a Conversation’
Dr. Sciarra is 6 feet, 3 inches tall. He has a commanding presence and a big personality. But his patient’s comfort is his top priority, which is why you will not see him in a traditional white coat. He’s often without a blazer or tie. He wants all interactions to be free of anxiety.
Read More: Surrounding Patients with Positivity
Dr. Sciarra will personalize the visit and talk about shared interests, often related to the handful of manual labor jobs that he had over the years.
“If I see that they look like they work with concrete (their boots are dusty), I’ll ask them about that and then I’ll just tell them a little about my experience,” Dr. Sciarra says. “The next thing you know, we’re having a conversation, and now I’m more like an equal to them. I feel that breaks down barriers and allows better communication.”
He enjoys being part of good outcomes and gets satisfaction from fixing people’s problems. On several occasions, he has even been known to run into burning buildings to save people. During one incident, Dr. Sciarra was driving to his office in Jersey City at 7:30 in the morning when he noticed fire coming from a building along his route.
“You could see the smoke, and then the flames started coming out of the windows,” Dr. Sciarra recalls.
He stopped his car, heard a family screaming for help from their kitchen, then ran up steps to help the family escape the flames.
“It’s just something that’s instinctual for me. I can’t watch something happen and not get involved,” he says. “It’s just the way I’ve always been.”
Read More: Out of the White Coat: Dr. John Krcmarik
Making Memories
Medicine is not the only thing that Dr. Sciarra enjoys. He has a passion for memories and things that make him smile, such as his vintage 1924 Model T Ford (nicknamed “Lizzy”). He likes to cruise around in his 1969 red Corvette, and he enjoys riding motorcycles.
“That gives me a sense of freedom,” he says.
He also likes to sing. He’s been known to join a performer at a restaurant to belt out a few tunes (likely Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”).
“My family has learned to accept that of me,” he says with a chuckle. “Most of the time, people appreciate it.”
These days, Dr. Sciarra still uses his manual labor skills to do jobs around his own property. Thinking back on his career path, he says the lessons from his early days in landscaping have carried into medicine.
“I think what’s most important about being a doctor, though, is that you’re not dealing with azaleas and junipers — you’re dealing with people’s lives,” he says. “With landscaping, you can always correct something — remove a tree if it didn’t work out — but when it comes to human beings, sometimes you only get one shot at getting it right. So, I think that level of attention and standard of applying yourself and doing the best job you can really matured over time for me.”
Dr. Sciarra sees patients at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group Specialty Care in Beaufort and Okatie. Call 843-770-4588 to make an appointment.
