When it comes to solving complex medical mysteries, Dr. Arianne Harvey is always ready to crack the case. Dr Harvey who is one of the Internal Medical Physicians that holds practicing privileges at Bayview Hospital, also holds the position of Head of Medicine. With the combination of her warm personality and exceptional bedside manner, Dr. Harvey’s patients receive both clinical excellence and genuine compassion.
“I’m persnickety and protective of my patients,” she acknowledges, a reflection of the meticulous attention to detail and deep sense of responsibility that characterises her approach to patient care. Her ability to coordinate multiple aspects of complex cases while maintaining a focus on holistic care makes her an invaluable member of Barbados’ medical community.
Dr. Harvey’s path to medicine was shaped by her family’s emphasis on education as the key to success. Though her father was an engineer, she found her calling in medicine—specifically during her clinical rotations. “When I got on the ward, I had my ‘aha’ moment,” she recalls. “That’s when everything clicked. I was like oh I like this”
Her medical education took her from UWI Mona, where she developed a deep respect for the practice of medicine, to Yale University for her residency. The sound Caribbean medical foundation and exposure to cutting-edge American healthcare technology has given her a unique perspective that benefits her patients today.
Upon completing her residency, she returned to Barbados, where she was recruited to work in the nephrology unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), contributing to the expansion of dialysis services.
Today, Dr. Harvey maintains a dynamic practice that spans both public and private healthcare. She provides her services at the QEH, while also maintaining private inpatient care at Bayview Hospital and seeing patients at her private office. Additionally, she serves as a lecturer in clinical medicine at UWI, teaching the next generation of medical professionals.
Dr. Harvey describes internal medicine as a specialty that handles “everything else” outside surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics. She particularly enjoys being the coordinator of complex cases, managing multiple moving parts to ensure holistic patient care. “We’re often teased about internal medicine because we write a lot and have long histories,” she says with a smile. “But I love sitting at the bedside, listening to patients’ stories, and solving diagnostic challenges.”
Her expertise spans three crucial areas: managing everyday conditions that have become complex, coordinating care for patients with multiple interrelated conditions, and solving diagnostic mysteries that have stumped others. “When no one knows what it is, I tell myself: I shall find it,” she says, revealing her passionate approach to medical detective work.
Dr. Harvey often advises her patients to “Use what you have before you lose it.” This simple but profound philosophy extends to her holistic view of health and wellness. She reminds patients and colleagues alike about the importance of self-care: “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” she counsels, emphasizing the importance of maintaining your own health while caring for others.
After more than a decade in practice, Dr. Harvey’s enthusiasm for medicine remains unwavering. “I still get excited when I see something interesting, or when I see a patient recover from being deathly ill. Even the challenging patients provide lessons that keep me in love with medicine or, at the very least, remind me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
At Bayview Hospital, Dr. Harvey particularly values the efficiency of the admission process, the high standards of nursing care, and the comprehensive team approach to patient care. “What I like about Bayview Hospital is the ease with which it is to admit patients,” she explains. “When you have ill patients, which we normally do, and many of our cases are not elective, I need to know that I can send a patient down and they’ll get on the ward. That efficiency is crucial.”
She especially appreciates the hospital’s commitment to patient safety through its in-house Senior House Officers (SHOs), a program she helped champion as head of department. “We vet them, so we know who our staff is. I can call and know who’s there, know they’ll manage the patient, and they have training if something goes acutely wrong. That bridges the gap of the 15 minutes it takes me to get there.”
The nursing staff also earns her high praise. “The nurses are old school in the sense that they’re well trained. They put up IVs, they know their patients, and they’re compassionate,” she notes. “They’ll pull me aside and say ‘Dr. Harvey, I am concerned about how this patient is doing’ or tell me if a patient hasn’t shared certain information.” This level of attentive care and communication is crucial for the holistic patient care she strives to provide.
A testament to her confidence in Bayview’s care quality is perhaps most powerfully expressed in personal terms: “It’s where I’d put my parents if they needed to be admitted to hospital.” And on an island where privacy is particularly precious due to its small size, she values Bayview’s ability to provide both excellent medical care and the discretion her patients deserve.
For those fortunate enough to be under Dr. Harvey’s care, they not only have a physician, but a dedicated detective, teacher, and healer who brings both scientific rigor and human compassion to every case she encounters.