Dr. Haskett is with our American Fork OB/GYN Group and has been a practicing physician since 2008. He attended medical school in Oregon at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. He love delivering babies, helping women have healthy pregnancies and working together with both his partners and patients. He’s a basketball fan and music lover! With 3 boys playing basketball and his daughter working towards becoming a singer/songwriter in LA, we could say it’s all in the family. It was great to get to know him better and we hope you enjoy it too!

Why did you choose to become an OBGYN?

I love to deliver babies! The very first baby I delivered was my own son, who is 18 now. I loved it and it pointed me in that direction. At the time I was in medical school and doctor knew that, so he invited me to catch my son. He helped me through it and I feel in love with the specialty. Overall it’s a fun experience and is everyone’s favorite day, which is very rewarding!

What do you love about Valley Women’s Health?

I’ve been with Valley Women’s Health for 2 year and an OB for 11 years. We all work well together and creates a very team-oriented atmosphere. The patients we care for belong to all of us and we are all fully invested that come through the doors. I think that’s unique. Not every practice feels that way, for example if you deliver someone else’s patient, it’s someone else’s patient, not necessarily yours. At Valley, everyone is everyone’s patient and all are fully invested. I like that!

The partners I work with do a great job too. They are caring and compassionate towards patients. They put their job first. To me it makes for a very safe, healthy environment to practice with. When I’m not here, there will always bee someone to take really good care of my patient who is fresh, excited to be here and values them as much as I do.

What do you wish all women could know?

It’s good for women to know that being pregnant is normal and having babies is hard. The experience is not always easy. It can be challenging. Part of being a mom is going through some hard stuff, recognizing the importance of their role and they’re not along in feeling like it’s hard. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Everyone compares themselves to everybody else, but the reality is that everyone is going though hard experiences and that’s okay. You’re all in the same boat and it’s okay to feel like it’s hard for you and not always roses. Many women put on an image that everything is great, happy and wonderful, but the truth is that motherhood is a hard experience, it’s tough having kids babies and it’s okay to not be perfect.

Has there been a patient or family you’ve connected with?

First of all, I really love what I do. It’s a fun part of medicine. People come in and they tend to be excited, it tends to be a fun experience for them, they want to come see you. Patients aren’t just coming because they are sick, they are coming because they are excited to have a baby and I think that part of healthcare is really fun. There have been patients that may have had a tough experience or may have had a more difficult delivery and helping them through that is pretty cool. There was a time I took my son to Costco, we were checking out and a patient came up and said, “I don’t know if you remember me, but you saved my life.” My was sitting there, he was about 12 years old, and asked, “You saved her life?” It was cool because she had had kind of a traumatic birth experience and we were able to help her. It was just fun to be part of something knowing I made a difference for her and her baby. That was really special to me.

How do you help patients with loss?

It’s important for them to know that we care. We are invested in them more than people realize. When things don’t go well, it’s hard for us—we feel that pain and that grief. I feel like it’s a collaboration between us and the patients. We’re in it together! We feel just as sad, we cry and don’t sleep at night. It affects us as well. First of all, I want patients to know that we really care about them, we are going to help them go through the grieving process, because it takes some time, and we are going to work with them, be there for them and support them as they go through that process. Secondly, there are a lot of resources available. I hope that if patients know that, as a provider, we really care about them and we care about what they are going through that they can feel at least some comfort.

Tell me about your family.

I’m originally from Oregon and am married with 4 children—one daughter and three sons. My daughter is into music and is currently working towards becoming a singer/songwriter. She was also a contestant on American Idol. My sons play basketball, so we spend a lot of time doing that and other sports.

What is your favorite treat?

I like ice cream or sour patch watermelon. My favorite ice cream is Tillamook chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

What is something your patients don’t know about you?

I coach basketball. I played in high school, but not after.

What are your hobbies or favorite things to do?

I like to travel, music and spending time with the ones that I love. Basketball is also a big part of our life and I coach my youngest son’s 7th grade basketball team.

What always puts you in a good mood?

I love hearing my daughter sing. That always puts me in a good mood.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Pago in Salt Lake and is kind of an artisan cuisine place. We always go there for Valentine’s Day.

Learn more about Dr. Haskett