Born in April 1966 in Albany, New York, she moved to Saranac Lake when she was 12 years old. Her parents were Janet and John Debbie, and her siblings are Paul and Pam.

“My father was a veterinarian, so he was a doctor,” Dr. Monroe said.

Dr. Monroe earned her undergraduate degree in biomedical computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and she went to Upstate Medical University to earn her doctorate in medicine.

RIT was one of the few places that had that particular major.

“At the time I really wanted to go to medical school, but I wanted to make sure I had some kind of other potential job in my life,” she said, “and that major sounded like it would prepare me for medical school, if I was lucky enough to get in, and if not, I would be able to get a job doing something else if I graduated from there.”

In a recent interview for the “Strong Women” series, Dr. Monroe answered a number of questions about her career and being a strong woman. It has been edited for brevity.

Q: What was the main reason you decided to become a doctor?

A: My father definitely encouraged me to be a doctor. I wanted to do research. I actually didn’t want to do patient care, but my father was actually a very famous research veterinarian. He developed the wildlife rabies vaccine, and he was an expert on rabies and he thought that I would have a better chance at being able to do research with an MD. So I went to medical school originally to do that. While I was there, I was lucky enough to work with some people who were pediatric oncologists, which are cancer specialists, and I decided that that’s what I wanted to do. And then, I was going to start doing that, and Dr. Buck called from here and said we’re looking for someone to do some primary care in Saranac Lake. And I had my kids and I said, “I’ll try it out for a little while.” And that’s how I ended up in this ship.

Q: So you said that your father inspired you. Is there anyone else who specifically inspired you to become a doctor?

A: He was definitely the major person who inspired me. The pediatric oncologists at Upstate were very inspiring, too. I thought that would be the specialty that I wanted to do but meeting Dr. Buck and Dr. Johnson here in Saranac Lake made me understand that, that might be something I wanted to do. They were big influences in my life.

Q: What is your favorite part of being a doctor?

A: Well, I tell everybody that I would only ever be a pediatrician. So my favorite part of being a pediatrician is working with families, being able to reassure them when everything is going to be OK and being able to help them through difficult things when it’s not going as well.

Q: What is your least favorite part of being a pediatrician?

A: My least favorite part without doubt is people who are not kind to their children and are not able to take care of them the way they should be able to be taken care of.

Q: Tell me an inspiring story that you heard or that happened as a pediatrician.

A: That’s tricky because I can’t tell you some of the stories I know because of confidentiality. … I think I can, in general, say that I’ve had several children who had very complex medical problems, like really serious medical problems, and who actually died young or died as young adults, but watching their families with them is probably the best part of my job. When people have to really be asked to do something that is extremely difficult like that, you really get to see the best in people and it’s a privilege to be around people like that when they’re doing that.

Q: What is one highlight of your career?

A: I think the highlight of my career probably was choosing to come to Saranac Lake. That was a big jump for both my husband and I. We didn’t think we’d be able to do it if we had two little kids at the time. This was when we were in Syracuse and I was there and I was getting ready to do a fellowship. I had gotten accepted into a fellowship there, and I was going to do it (the fellowship there). And then my parents being here and having their support raising my kids, was probably the best choice I ever made. Them helping me raise my kids, and my husband’s support through the whole thing, wouldn’t of happened because he grew up here, too, and my mother and father-in-law were here, too.

Q: You are one of the only pediatricians and you’re a woman. How does that make you feel?

A: I am one of the few pediatricians in the community, but the other pediatricians are women. There are three other pediatricians in the community that are women. So I did specifically come up here to Saranac Lake when I was trying to decide what to do because it is a small town, but we do have a great base of really good medical people. … When I first decided I might want to go to medical school, I went out to lunch with a doctor who practiced here in Saranac Lake, and he questioned whether or not I’d be able to be a wife and a mother and still be a doctor at the same time, because that was the generation of doctor that he was. And so I think I’m glad that I was born in a time where I’d been able to do all those things. Because I tell everybody my first job is being a mom, my second job is being a doctor. So if I had had to choose between those two, I don’t know if I would choose being a doctor, but I am very happy to have done both and to be doing both still.

Q: Do you consider yourself a strong woman?

A: Not really. I have a lot of support. I am very lucky. I have a really supportive husband who went through all of medical school with me. I have a really supportive family. It’s not easy for my children sometimes to be around all their friends and to grow up in a place where I know everybody, and I take care of everybody. And they are very supportive of that. I have a lot of friends who are supportive of that. I have a lot of the nurses here, and the nurses in the hospital do so much to help me do my job. I never feel like I’m the person that’s in charge, I always feel like it’s part of what we’re doing together. So I feel like we have a strong medical community. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m a strong woman.

Q: Who in your life do you consider to be a strong woman?

A: A lot of the moms of the kids that I take care of. I guess that I can’t tell you about the specifics, but I think you know a few of them. Even taking care of well children is really hard, taking care of sick children can be even harder, and I don’t think that the moms get enough credit for just being there everyday and doing the best they can.

Q: Who, in pop culture, sports, or business, do you consider to be a role model for young women growing up today, and why?

A: I think Amanda Goreman is a great example for young women. I think that she has really gone out and been a good voice for young people.

Q: Were you ever hesitant about becoming a pediatrician, or was that always what you wanted to do?

A: Nope, it was never a hesitation. When it’s a bad day, I think I might like to own a bookstore but I never want to be a different kind of doctor.

Q: So you never wanted to change your mind, like once you got started with the job?

A: Nope, never, but I worry that there won’t be somebody else to do it when I’m done because it’s hard.

Q: How do you feel like pediatrics is so much different than family practice or general practice?

A: To be completely honest with you, I don’t want to take care of adults. I don’t honestly think I’m nice enough to take care of adults or compassionate enough to take care of adults. Pediatric patients never did anything wrong. I mean they certainly never tried to be sick, or injured, so when they (pediatric patients) come to me with a problem, it’s not their fault. You know, it’s not a choice they made. So I don’t know that I would be nice enough to take care of adults. And so I have great respect for the people who practice that, because a lot of the people here practice family practice, and every day I get a nice reminder that I made the right career choice.