Meet Dr. Wheeler, a pulmonary and critical care physician and the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Novant Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte!
Tell us a little about how got interested in education and your background ?
What is the most valuable aspect in medical education for you?
I really enjoy learning and continue to learn every day. I learned from the students, and I love when students asked me questions. I have been amazed how technology including better radiology services like ultrasound and artificial intelligence are influencing and have a potential to improve our treatment of patients. I am learning just like the students are in these regards. They often are able to teach me things to help me be more efficient. It has also been interesting to see how medical dogma from the past is no longer so in the current time, and our future understanding will evolve and be better in the future. It has made me more cautious and how I present knowledge and forces me to remain up-to-date and provide evidence-based explanations.
What do you enjoy in your free time or outside work?
Outside of work, I really enjoy all kinds of physical activity. I have been a lifelong athlete and played hockey in college. I continued running and performing triathlons in addition to other various sports that have included racquetball softball and more recently pickleball. My main activity, however, has been cycling over the last 10 to 15 years. I am currently riding between 5000 6000 miles annually. My wife and I participate annually in a 260-mile bike ride from Simpsonville South Carolina near Greenville to Charleston and supportive Alzheimer’s. Between my wife and I, 3 of our parents have battled various types of dementia. I really enjoy traveling and especially traveling with her over the children. We have gone on trips to the Canadian Rockies, Iceland, Portugal, Santa Fe Spain and Italy within the last 10 to 15 years and hope to continue this in the future. These trips are usually combined with some element of cultural pursuit and often multi-sport activities (hiking, biking, etc.).
What advice would you give to a 1st year medical student? 4th year student?
I would advise a first-year student to try to soak up as many clinical experiences as they can regardless of the service they are on or whether they envision going into that field. I have learned immensely from my experiences on obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and pediatrics. I still retained a fair amount of knowledge from those experiences, and they come in handy quite a bit more commonly than one might expect–that may reflect my chosen field of critical care medicine which is quite broad. I would also encourage directed self– learning on problems that affect individual patient’s clinical problems. I would also encourage trying some electives that may be outside the individuals perceived career field–opinions and choices like change! I would encourage fourth-year students to pay attention to mentors and how they interact with colleagues, nurses, and families. A lot can be gleaned from that to help with bedside manner communication etc. I would also encourage fourth-year students to not be afraid to take the lead on driving patient care, coming up with plans of care and diagnostic evaluations especially in notes and bedside presentations. It will soon be the time when they are the responsible one in just a few short months. I would also encourage both 1st and 4th year students to make sure they have outside interests that they maintain and keep a strong social network. These tzwo things are invaluable for success during medical school and afterwards.