Current and previous interviews with practicing doctors across the health professions. SDN publishes new articles, interviews, podcasts, and features every weekday.
The Student Doctor Network was founded by students in 1999 to help students become doctors. All articles are provided free as part of our nonprofit educational mission.
Articles are listed below in reverse date order:
Dr. Samir Guglani (MBBS, MRCP, FRCR) is a consultant clinical oncologist and a writer. He is also the founder, director, and curator of Medicine Unboxed, an annual event which uses the arts to engage health professionals and the public in conversation around medicine.
Dr. Guglani obtained his medical degree from the University College Hospital London Medical School (1995), having also completed an intercalated degree in neuroscience there.
As a physician, I have worked in private practice, academic medicine, research medicine, and community health. I currently work in a non-profit community clinic, where I treat patients, supervise nurse midwives, and train providers on electronic health records. At Accepted, I advise students applying to medical school, residencies, fellowships, PA, NP, MPH, nursing, midwifery, and other healthcare-affiliated programs. I enjoy working with traditional and nontraditional applicants alike and believe that healthcare is at its best when providers come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Today we (Tutor the People) are interviewing Courtleigh Watson, a DVM associate veterinarian. Courtleigh studied veterinary medicine in Alabama, and she is going to tell us more about her background, the steps she took to become a veterinarian, and her current career.
TTP: Hi, Courtleigh. Thank you for speaking with us today. Not many people can say they were able to acquire their dream job. Did you always want to be a veterinarian? Please tell us more about your background and what drew you to this discipline—did you know during undergrad that you would continue to pursue veterinary medicine? This was a big decision to make at that time.
Dr. James Dahle is a practicing emergency physician and founder of White Coat Investor, a website in which he shares what he has learned about personal finance management and wealth building.
Dr. Dahle graduated in 1999 with a BS in molecular biology from Brigham Young University before obtaining his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2003. Following this, he trained at the University of Arizona Emergency Medicine Residency Program and then served four years with the Air Force and the Navy, which took him across military bases on four different continents.
By Gloria Onwneme, Medical Student, University of Nottingham, UK
Dr. Harris Eyre, MD, PhD, Fulbright Scholar (WG Walker) is a psychiatry trainee, and Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of CNSDose, a company which has developed and deployed a world-leading genetic test to aid the antidepressant selection process for primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and people with depression. He is also an executive-in-residence at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the world’s largest medical complex.
Javier La Fontaine, DPM, MS, is a professor in the Plastic Surgery Department at UT Southwestern and an attending physician at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, TX. He specializes in limb salvage, using his surgical and wound healing expertise to help patients—especially those with diabetes—who have been told that amputation is the only course of action available to them.
Originally hailing from Puerto Rico, Dr. La Fontaine earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. He earned DPM degree from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in 1995 and completed his residency in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1999. He has been widely published, holds leadership roles in multiple professional societies—including the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, where he serves as a regional president, and the American Podiatric Medical Association—and has been named one of the “Most Influential 175 Podiatrists in the US” by Podiatry Magazine.
James R. Doty M.D., is a Professor of Neurosurgery and the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University.
He is also a philanthropist serving on the board of a number of non-profits; an investor and consultant to a number of medical device and biomedical companies; a venture partner in the medical device industry; and an entrepreneur. He is the former CEO of Accuray, manufacturer of the CyberKnife, that went public in 2007 with a valuation of $1.3 billion.
Dr. Ahmed Hankir MBChB PGCert (Psychiatry) PGCert (Epidemiology) is a specialty trainee in psychiatry in the National Health Service (UK), an Associate Professor of Psychiatry with the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies (USA), and a Senior Research Fellow for the Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with Cambridge University (UK).
Dr. Adigo Atabo, BM BS BMedSc(Hons) MRCS MIH FWACS(Plastics) IFMCP, is the founder and Medical … Read more
Dr. Rozelle Kane is a physician, an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow with the Department of … Read more
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I started medical school at age 27 after studying international relations in college and then working as a paralegal in an international law firm. I met my husband, who was also changing careers, the first day of a post-baccalaureate premed program called MedPath at the Ohio State University. I mention this because I did not choose to pursue medicine at an early age, but rather felt called to it during the course of my education and training in other areas.
The Tutor The People Interview Series is an ongoing discussion with people from all walks … Read more
Dr. Vasilis K. Pozios is a board-certified physician in forensic and general psychiatry, mental health … Read more
Dr. Ali Wong is a plastic surgery resident in Nova Scotia, Canada and creator of the website Sketchy Medicine, in which she shares graphical representations of various medical concepts. Dr. Wong received her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Neuroscience (2009) and her MD (2013) at Dalhousie University. Following initial year in residency, she went on to receive an MSE (Master of Science in Engineering) from Johns Hopkins University (2016). Dr. Wong has been published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Journal of Hand Therapy, and Behavioral Brain Research.
Dr. Shane Quinonez is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program at The University of Michigan. He earned his MD at The University of Michigan and then completed his pediatrics, medical genetics, and biochemical genetics training there as well.
When did you first decide to become a physician? Why?
I wish I could answer this question by showing a childhood picture of myself with a toy stethoscope around my neck. The truth is not nearly as cute. As an undergraduate student at The University of Toledo, I initially enrolled in pharmacy school, thinking I would become a pharmacist. Around my sophomore year I began reflecting on what truly gave me fulfillment in all of my previous jobs, educational experiences, and extracurricular activities. I quickly realized that I was most happy when I was interacting directly with people and was presented with opportunities to improve their lives. While these elements were clearly available in pharmacy, I felt that I would be best able to explore these interests as a physician. Though my decision was fairly calculated, I do not think I would be nearly as fulfilled and happy with my choice had I not made that decision based on the person I truly am rather than the person I wanted to be.
Alison Stansfield, MBChB, MRCPsych, MD is the clinical lead and consultant psychiatrist for the Leeds … Read more
When the 12 members of NASA’s 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class report to Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX for their two years of training, two of them—Dr. Jonny Kim and Dr. Frank Rubio—will leave behind medical careers for the chance to explore the final frontier. SDN recently spoke with Dr. Kim about his nontraditional path to medical school and his transition from emergency medicine resident to astronaut candidate.
Dr. Jonny Kim started his career in the US Navy, where he trained as a Navy SEAL and completed more than 100 combat missions, earning a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with Combat “V”. He earned a degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and his MD at Harvard Medical School. He is currently finishing the intern year of his residency in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. At the end of the two years of astronaut training, Dr. Kim and the other astronaut candidates could be assigned to any of a variety of posts furthering NASA’s mission.
Dr. Sarvi Eastell is a surgeon, entrepreneur, and digital health advisor. She is the founder and CEO of Holding Your Hand, a company that helps patients navigate the healthcare system by connecting them with expert impartial advocates. She is an Honorary Colorectal Surgeon at St Mark’s Hospital Foundation Trust and Chief Medical Officer at Thriva Ltd, a company that produces at-home diagnostic kits to enable personalized health monitoring. In her spare time, she is passionate about mentoring doctors who want to innovate and/or diversify their careers. She speaks on leadership and personal development and provides workshops on the anatomy of mindfulness. Her mentees have approached her via channels such as Medic Footprints, Women Like Us, Google’s London Campus, Surgify.co and LinkedIn.
Dr. Eastell obtained her medical degree from King’s College London (2001). During medical school, she also intercalated and obtained a dual bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering and Mathematics (1998).
Some people know what they want to do with their lives from an early age. Others, like Army general dentist Captain Pamela Cotton, DDS., take a rather twisty path to get there.
Cotton majored in engineering in college, a far cry from her current profession of dentistry. But the real-life experience of her first career quickly fell short. “I worked for a few years as an engineer, and it was nice, I liked it, but it was still the same as sitting behind a desk. I didn’t get to work with a lot of people,” she explained to SDN last fall at the University of California Davis Pre-Health Conference (UCDPHC). “So I decided to go back to school.”
Dr. Jennifer A. Villwock is the current Rhinology and Skull Base Fellow at the University of Kansas Medical Center. After graduating in 2011 from the Michigan State College of Human Medicine, she completed her ENT residency at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. Dr. Villwock is active in the American Academy of Otolaryngology and serves on the Ethics Committee of the American Rhinologic Society. You can reach her on Twitter @docwock