Life & Work with Sharifa Avery of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharifa Avery.

Sharifa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story really started with wanting to practice medicine in a way that felt more personal, sustainable, and connected to real life. I’m a board-certified internal medicine physician, and throughout my career I’ve worked in hospital medicine, primary care, urgent care, and telemedicine. Those experiences gave me a broad view of how healthcare works — and also where patients often fall through the cracks.

Over time, I kept seeing the same pattern: people were overwhelmed, rushed, and trying to manage things like ADHD, anxiety, weight, blood pressure, burnout, and preventive care in systems that didn’t always give them enough time or support. I wanted to create a space where patients could feel heard, understood, and cared for beyond a quick visit.

That’s what led me to start Wellness with Dr. Avery, my direct primary care and wellness practice in the Atlanta area. My practice focuses on personalized care for busy adults, including adult ADHD, mental health support, weight management, prevention, and helping people connect the dots between their health and their everyday lives.

Getting here has been a mix of faith, training, hard work, life experience, and finally deciding to build something that reflects the kind of physician I wanted to be. I’m still growing, but I’m proud to be creating a practice that feels accessible, thoughtful, and rooted in community.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a completely smooth road. Medicine teaches you how to take care of patients, but it does not always teach you how to build a business, market yourself, manage operations, or create systems from the ground up. Starting my own practice meant learning a whole new side of healthcare — everything from technology and scheduling to patient communication, branding, finances, and compliance.

One of the biggest challenges has been balancing the physician side of me with the entrepreneur side of me. As a doctor, I’m trained to focus on the patient in front of me. As a business owner, I also have to think about sustainability, growth, visibility, and making sure the practice can actually support the kind of care I want to provide. That has been a learning curve.

Another challenge has been creating a model that feels different from the rushed, traditional healthcare experience many people are used to. I wanted to build something more personal and accessible, but that also meant educating people on what direct primary care is and why it matters.

The road has stretched me, but in a good way. It has made me more creative, more disciplined, and more confident in my vision. Every challenge has pushed me to build a practice that is not only meaningful for patients, but also sustainable for me as a physician.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a board-certified internal medicine physician and the founder of Wellness with Dr. Avery, a direct primary care and wellness practice in the Atlanta area. My work focuses on helping adults take a more proactive and personalized approach to their health, especially in areas like adult ADHD, anxiety, depression, weight management, blood pressure, prevention, and overall wellness.

Before starting my practice, I worked across hospital medicine, primary care, urgent care, and telemedicine. That background shaped how I see patients — not just as a diagnosis or a 15-minute appointment, but as whole people trying to manage their health while balancing work, family, stress, and real life.

I’m especially passionate about helping patients who feel like they have been dismissed, rushed, or told “everything is fine” when they know something feels off. A lot of my work involves connecting the dots: focus, sleep, mood, hormones, weight, blood pressure, lifestyle, and prevention.

What I’m most proud of is building a practice that gives patients more time, more access, and more education. I want people to leave visits feeling like they understand their health, their options, and the next step. What sets me apart is that I combine strong clinical training with a very human, relatable approach. I want healthcare to feel thoughtful, honest, and empowering — not intimidating or rushed.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I think luck has played a role in my life, but I also believe luck often meets preparation. There have been moments where the right opportunity, the right person, or the right timing showed up when I needed it. But I also had to be prepared enough, brave enough, and willing enough to walk through those doors.

In medicine and in business, I’ve had unexpected experiences that shaped me. Some of the challenging moments ended up redirecting me toward something better. Working in different areas of healthcare — hospital medicine, primary care, urgent care, and telemedicine — gave me a wide perspective that I may not have fully appreciated at the time. Looking back, all of those experiences helped prepare me to build my own practice.

I also think some of what people call luck is really community, faith, timing, and resilience working together. I’ve been fortunate to meet people who encouraged me, supported my vision, or simply reminded me that it was possible to create something different.

So yes, luck has played a role. But I don’t see it as random. I see it as a combination of grace, preparation, timing, and the courage to keep moving even when the road is uncertain.

Pricing:

• ADHD & Focus Care Membership: $225/month
• Comprehensive Primary Care Membership: $275/month

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wellnesswithdravery.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dravery2017/
• Other: https://www.threads.com/@dravery2017?xmt=AQG0DzoKumfxId2BYClLrrANWtjLg-FF2wdsQdfXDflNI5I