Dr. Rose Tompkins

After focusing on adult congenital heart patients for the first part of her career, Dr. Tompkins decided to apply her vast experience to preventive cardiology for a broader population. She now employs the lessons she learned and her creative thinking to treat all adults. “No case is too simple or too complex,” she says. “It’s so exciting to me to connect with patients, and then take a proactive approach, building lifestyle strategies, applying advances in care, and tailoring my guidance to keep them on a good trajectory over their larger health journey.”

Dr. Tompkins traces her interest in medicine to her mother, a nurse whose warmth with patients left a lasting impression, and who later struggled to navigate the health care system as a patient herself when seeking treatment for a chronic illness. Seeing her mother as a caregiver and care recipient led Dr. Tompkins into volunteering and then lab work throughout college.

She earned her bachelor’s of science in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before receiving her medical degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Tompkins then completed her internal medicine residency at Columbia University Medical Center and her adult cardiovascular disease fellowship at NYU Langone Medical Center. She also completed a visiting clinical fellowship at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in adult congenital heart disease. In 2016, she joined the first class of fellows in the newly accredited adult congenital heart disease subspecialty at Stanford University Medical Center.

Quadruple board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, adult congenital heart disease, and echocardiography, Dr. Tompkins was drawn to cardiology for the lifelong relationships that it allows physicians to develop with their patients. “In cardiology, we can understand the disease process and be able to intervene in a way that makes a big impact on people’s lives,” she says.

Following her training, Dr. Tompkins joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Smidt Heart Institute and founded its Adult Congenital Heart Program, which she built into one of the country’s leading centers on adult congenital heart disease. Over the following years, she established networks of collaborative relationships across specialties to coordinate care for patients who often felt overwhelmed by a complex health system.

Alongside her clinical work, Dr. Tompkins has taught cardiology fellows, mentored junior faculty, and frequently lectured on topics related to heart disease and managing risk across all kinds of health conditions. She carries this passion for education into her interactions with patients, too. Dr. Tompkins is known for translating complex cardiac diagnoses into terms patients can understand and act on, often using diagrams and visual explanations so that people can take ownership of their conditions. “I want people to be able to communicate back to me what they’re going through so they feel like a partner in their care,” Dr. Tompkins says. “Once they understand the rationale of why I’m making recommendations, that I’m using the best science has to offer, and that I’m applying the most recent clinical trial data and then individualizing it so the plan makes sense for them, they’re much more motivated to take that advice.”

Lifestyle strategies are a major part of Dr. Tompkins’ approach, and she creates a safe, judgment-free environment to help patients stick with their goals. She focuses on small, achievable habits paired with consistent positive reinforcement. “I remind people they’re going to have days when following all the guidance is not as easy, but it’s important to not get discouraged,” Dr. Tompkins says. “It’s all about the journey and consistency, not about being perfect.”

While she now treats adults of all ages and health experiences, Dr. Tompkins’ background in congenital heart disease has given her particular expertise in working with patients as they enter adulthood. “We know there’s a lot of competing stressors in our lifestyle for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. People are often starting their careers, going through marriages, family planning, and becoming parents, so the question of how do they manage all of those things and stay on track with their health goals is very important,” she says. “I find it so rewarding to help people through these challenges.”

After spending the early years of her medical education in New York, Dr. Tompkins views returning to the city as a homecoming of sorts. Outside of work, she’s a devoted spin class regular and a self-described foodie. She also enjoys exploring New York’s restaurant scene and spending time with her family.