When asked where she’d like to be interviewed, Diana Hicks hesitates.

&uot;We should probably do it right here,&uot; she finally decides, indicating her waiting room at Genis Women’s Care, PC at 1890 N. Main St. &uot;Right now, the place is a little cramped, but that should change soon.&uot;

In December, Hicks will move her small gynecology practice into the medical office building at Obici Hospital on Godwin Boulevard.

&uot;I’m not going to be a personal employee of the hospital, but they’ve been great; very helpful toward me.&uot;

Maybe it’s better that way. After a year at Specialists for Women, the 29-year-old graduate of the Eastern Virginia Medical School and the University of Southern Florida in Tampa is ready to run her own practice.

&uot;I wanted to branch out after Specialists for Women,&uot; Hicks explains.

&uot;I had a lot of different opportunities when dealing with patients there, things like pre-natal care, surgeries, delivering babies. I wanted autonomy because I think a solo practice offers patients better continuity.&uot; Hicks has a bit of help in her office; her nurse practitioner, Lisa Perry, is a former labor and delivery nurse at Obici.

As an obstetrician/gynecologist, Hicks provides such services as pre-natal care, infant delivery, pelvic pain, the removal of ovarian cysts, and other problems of the like.

&uot;I’ve always preferred hand-on work,&uot; she explains, &uot;as opposed to just talking to patients and performing a diagnosis through lab work.&uot;

Hicks doesn’t think her gender is necessarily an asset to being an OB/GYN.

&uot;A lot of people might say that men don’t understand what it’s like to go through things like pregnancy or things like that, but I knew a lot of male physicians at Specialists for Women that were great at what they did. It’s all up to the patient.&uot;

After moving up the medical ladder so quickly (she obtained her degree from Eastern Virginia in 1996 and graduated from Southern Florida in 2000), Hicks hopes that the future treats her well.

&uot;I’m brand new at this. I’ve been wanting to go out on my own for about a year now, but when I first started at Specialists (in 2000), I never dreamed I’d want to do it.

&uot;Right now, there’s a lot of women entering the field (of gynecology), and I think that there are women that might feel more comfortable being examined by a female doctor.&uot;

To set up an appointment or learn more about Suffolk’s new OB/GYN, call 923-4500.