{"id":5867,"date":"2025-03-14T09:45:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T13:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/?p=5867"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:38:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T18:38:41","slug":"matching-medical-student-pursues-surgical-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2025\/03\/matching-medical-student-pursues-surgical-success\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I love connecting with people\u2019: matching medical student empowers patients, pursues surgical success"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joshua
Joshua Walker at the White Coat Ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Math and science always came naturally to Joshua Walker. Growing up, he dreamed of becoming a\u00a0chemist and creating the next super serum to make a superhero. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A high school anatomy and physiology teacher suggested he consider a medical profession instead. After majoring in chemistry at UNC, Walker remembered that conversation and decided to pursue a career in medicine.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He spent the next two and a half years working as a nursing assistant. Still, he knew the next step was medical school.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to understand what medicine was all about,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI saw doctors and what they did in terms of the responsibility, leadership, respect and the connection with their patients. I really wanted to do that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker returned to Chapel Hill to attend the UNC School of Medicine, where he\u2019s spent the last four years preparing to become a\u00a0doctor. During a hospital shift at UNC, he was invited to watch his first surgery, expecting a heart valve replacement. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, it was a heart transplant, and Walker was hooked. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to have that impactful, dopamine-rushing job where I can do definitive procedures with patients and then help them back to their new normal,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI’m taking this invisible adversary out of their body that they cannot fix themselves. That\u2019s why I want to be a surgeon.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Match Day on March 21, Walker applied to\u00a0general surgery residency programs. In his eyes, surgery is the perfect fit for him to connect with patients during the pre-operative phase, work with a team during the operation, and achieve results in the post-operative period so patients leave his care with their health restored, never needing to return.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Joshua is a highly intelligent, hard-working, driven and caring person, and these qualities have defined his great accomplishments,\u201d said Dr. John Ikonomidis, a cardiothoracic surgeon who worked with Walker both as a nursing assistant and during his last surgical block as a fourth-year medical student.\u00a0\u201cWhen I first met him, I knew he had what it took to succeed in his dream of becoming a physician.\u00a0It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with him.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Advancing community and care<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"Joshua
Walker (far right) participating in the Shop Docs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Walker was an undergraduate, he was introduced to Minority Men in Medicine, a program at UNC designed to connect undergrad students, medical students and residents from minority backgrounds. It was the first time Walker found himself in a space with other like-minded individuals from similar backgrounds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the group became disjointed once\u00a0COVID occurred. When Walker returned to campus as a medical student, he worked with a few others to jumpstart\u00a0Minority Men in Medicine at UNC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe gathered all the minority medical students, went to campus and showed ourselves to the undergrad students,\u201d Walker said. \u201cWe ended up not only being able to revitalize Minority Men in Medicine\u2019s undergrad connection, but we were also able to help the Minority Women in Medicine get its program running as well.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker also helped restart the Shop Docs, an initiative to address health disparities in minority communities. Members from Minority Men in Medicine went to barbershops in Chapel Hill, performing blood pressure readings and providing information about healthy habits for cardiovascular disease prevention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His involvement in Shop Docs models the same care Walker provides to his patients.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love connecting with people,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI love taking care of people and hearing their stories.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker reflects on a patient interaction during a rotation where a man received a lung transplant. As a former athlete, his recovery was taking longer than he expected. Walker noted this background and spoke to him like a coach, showing the patient that he still had it in him to persevere.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s our job to speak to the patients, engage with them and empower them to take hold of their health,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIf we just tell them, \u2018Here’s a pamphlet, this is what you need to do,\u2019 and don’t have that personal conversation with them, they won’t make the change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a village of support<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
\"Joshua
Walker boarding a private jet to procure a liver and two kidneys from an organ donor during his transplant surgery rotation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/b>When Walker joined Smithies, his assigned advisory college, he didn\u2019t know it would introduce him to one of his biggest mentors. Over the past four years, Dr. Raj Telhan has served as Walker\u2019s advisor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a true advocate and a true leader in Dr. <\/span>Telhan,\u201d Walker said. \u201cEvery word of advice<\/span> he gave supported me and\u00a0really empowered me.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The support doesn\u2019t end there for Walker. He met his fianc\u00e9e, Stephanie Hargrove, right before the dedicated Step 1 study period. Walker called her his \u201cgreatest cheerleader\u201d for her guidance and prayers during one of the most stressful points of medical school. The couple is getting married in May, excited to start their lives together wherever Walker matches.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny school that’s on my list, I’ll be happy to go to because it gives me the opportunity to impact lives in spaces that both my fianc\u00e9e and I want to live,\u201d Walker said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s mother, father and sister have also offered the encouragement he needed along the way. With the four years of medical school ending and residency on the horizon, Walker sits with the accomplishment knowing he couldn\u2019t have done it alone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think to even be at the point where I am, it took a lot of people \u2014 a huge village \u2014 and a lot of dedication to be here,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI’m glad I made it to the end.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: Joshua Walker matched into General Surgery at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. during Match Day.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joshua Walker hopes to celebrate UNC School of Medicine’s 2025 Match Day by Matching into internal medicine on March 21. Walker helped revitalize Minority Men in Medicine at UNC and participated in Shop Docs, an initiative to address health disparities in minority communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117964,"featured_media":5878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018I love connecting with people\u2019: matching medical student empowers patients, pursues surgical success | Medical Doctorate Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Joshua Walker hopes to celebrate UNC School of Medicine's 2025 Match Day by Matching into internal medicine on March 21.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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