Saint John’s Physician Partners Welcomes Dr. Krystyna McNicoll

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Krystyna McNicoll recently joined Saint John’s Physician Partners—and she is ready to meet with more patients in her new Pacific Palisades digs.

“It’s been really wonderful,” McNicoll said of her first month at the office. “Everybody has been so welcoming and kind here, and trying to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

McNicoll brings with her many years of experience, including 16 at Pacific Palisades Medical Group. She made the move to Saint John’s with her partner of about 30 years, Dr. Gary Green.

Born and raised in England, McNicoll attended medical school before moving to Los Angeles.

“I came over here and did my residency at UCLA and a fellowship at UCLA,” McNicoll added. “My fellowship was in women’s health and geriatrics.”

She then stayed on the faculty at UCLA in the family medicine residency program: “So as well as seeing patients there, we would teach residents and medical students.”

UCLA is where McNicoll met Dr. Green, before moving to Pacific Palisades Medical Group.

“We go a ways back,” she shared. “He joined the faculty as a sport medicine fellow at UCLA when I was doing my fellowship. We were faculty together and then moved around at the same time to the Pacific Palisades Medical Group.”

She said that she was drawn to Saint John’s Physician Partners because of their philosophy and the way the offices are organized. She also highlighted their inclusivity.

“Saint John’s offers a lot of different kinds of insurance plans for patients, so again, most patients can actually be seen here, which I like that inclusivity,” McNicoll explained. “The way the office is now, it’s so well organized and I was super impressed also by our office manager, Nicole Carmickle. If you’ve got a good office manager, things work from the top down.”

She also appreciated that Saint John’s is just down the street from her and Green’s previous office, so that most, especially all of their local patients, would feel comfortable that it was a very close location.

McNicoll said that working through the COVID-19 pandemic has been interesting—and challenging. People have, in her experience, been worried and scared, and not just for health reasons.

“People’s jobs have been affected,” McNicoll said. “A lot of my patients have children—whether they’re school age or college age—and trying to balance all of that if they’re still working, especially if they’re working at home.”

She said that at first, there was a drop off in the number of patients coming into doctors’ offices, but as time has gone on, people are more comfortable.

“One thing that has been running well for some time at my current office is the capability of doing virtual visits,” McNicoll said. “I’ve already done several from this office. Yes, I’m sure some people are tired of doing a virtual anything, but it works, especially if someone is nervous about coming into the office.”

McNicoll is working four days per week at the office, so, despite having a few full days at the practice already, her availability to take on new patients is high.

“Most of my patients from the previous practice have joined up with this practice, but I’m definitely open to new patients and would be very happy to welcome new patients to this office,” she added.

She said that she is interested in women’s health and elder care. She explained that she enjoys working with the senior community, keeping people at their own homes and assisting with their needs to stay as functional as possible in their own surroundings.

“I like to see patients from all walks of life, all ages,” McNicoll concluded. “I think that makes the day interesting.”

Primary Care Pacific Palisades – Saint John’s Physician Partners is located at 881 Alma Real Drive in Suite 101. For more information, call 310-829-8923.