Beauty and brains do exist and Dr. Oemil Rodriguez is proof. Whether you’re hoping to someday become a doctor like her or you’re just interested in hearing her success story, this 40-year-old mother of three is the #girlboss anyone can be inspired by.

Photo provided by Dr. Rodriguez

After having spent over a decade living and working in the States, Dr. Rodriguez recently decided to start from scratch again and pack up her clinic, moving it to her native country, the Dominican Republic. It doesn’t matter where she’s at though — she knew from the time she started her fellowship working in an emergency room that it was her mission in life to help people.

“[I was seeing how sick patients were in the emergency room] and I wanted to help them before it got to that point.”

According to Modern Healthcare, a recent study showed that up to 30% of emergency visits “among patients with common chronic conditions are potentially unnecessary,” and could have been prevented.

It was this passion to focus on preventative care that eventually led her to become a certified personal trainer and nutritionist, focusing heavily on the benefits of anti-aging and hormonal replacement techniques.

“As we age, our body lowers the production of certain hormones and we go into hormone imbalance,” she told ICON Refined in an exclusive interview. “Our hormones regulate everything in our bodies from how we sleep to how we eat and everything in between.”

Dr. Rodriguez says that when your hormones are imbalanced, you experience mood swings, weight gain, and a host of other problems that can lead to detrimental health problems. It’s because of this that she stresses that it’s important to get hormones in balance sooner rather than later to avoid serious complications — and a simple blood test is all it takes to get started.

Dr. Rodriguez is one of the only doctors in the Dominican Republic that specifically combines diet, exercise and hormone replacement therapy to create a personalized plan for her patients to help them feel better. She has worked with dozens of clients in many ways, improving their overall health drastically — but she also practices what she preaches.

From hosting live cooking shows and writing articles in Oxygen, to performing in and winning fitness competitions — and many achievements in between — Rodreguez represents the full-body benefits of this therapy. She even achieved her IFBB Pro status in 2016.

Photo by James Patrick

However, the best part about what she does is that she takes all of her patient’s care very personally.

“You have to want to help people [if you’re doing this job],” she says. “It’s not about the money. I work with clients of all backgrounds and incomes, no matter what they can afford, I make it work.”

Dr. Rodriguez started from humble beginnings and worked her way up to become one of the Dominican Republic’s only practicing anti-aging, hormonal replacement specialists, and she still does telemedicine calls with patients all over including in the US.

“We can do a Zoom call and I can order blood tests locally for my patients,” she said. The only traveling that a patient would have to do is if they wanted a specific treatment that is only offered in-office, but that’s optional.

“I give all of my patients a personalized plan to get started on their journey to better health which includes a meal and fitness plan that fits with their lifestyle.”

Through thick and thin — even moving countries and running a business solo while being a full-time mother — it’s clear that improving the lives of many is Dr. Rodreguiez’s calling. She hopes that over the course of the next few years her clinic will expand to include more practitioners, but in the meantime, she encourages those interested in seeking the benefits of preventative care to get in contact with her through her website here and through her Instagram @draoemil.