Transcription:
Getting To Know Your Doctor

Bill: This is the Top Docs podcast. I'm your host, Bill Klaproth. And today, we're getting to know Dr. William Thomas, attending physician at Valley Sports and Spine Clinic. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Sports Medicine. Dr. Thomas, welcome.

William Thomas, MD: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Bill: Well, we love doing these segments, Dr. Thomas. It's always good to get to know the person behind the doctor. So, we're excited to get to know a little bit more about you today. So, thank you again. And I want to start with a very simple question. Tell us why did you want to become a doctor?

William Thomas, MD: Good question. It came from a long line of several life suggestions. But like a lot of doctors, it started with an illness of a close friend in high school. I had a dear close friend that passed away of cancer and that led to kind of developing an empathy and a real interest in caring and caregiving and one of the first steps that led me towards going to medical school.

Bill: You know, when we talk to people like you, we often hear that there's something that happened in your personal life that made you think, "This is what I want to do. I want to dedicate my life to medicine." You said that was one of the first steps to you becoming a doctor. What was one of the next steps?

William Thomas, MD: Actually, in my first career, when I first got into medicine, I actually went into an allied health profession and became a respiratory therapist along with a good buddy of mine and we practiced for a few years in that field. And I started to realize as much as I enjoyed the medicine and the hospital component of things, that for my grand scope of things, my interest started to go beyond just respiratory care. And as I became more interested in different aspects of health and medicine, I had some influential patients and doctors that kind of pushed me along the way and really challenged me to take on a bigger aspect of medicine. And then, that actually led to me going into the service, oddly enough. And I became a medic in the Navy they call a corpsman, and so I was a corpsman for a few. And there again, I had some well-intending physicians kind of pull me aside and really challenged me and say, "Hey, you're doing really well and maybe you need to think about a career in medicine." And then, after all those gentle hits to the head, I finally kind of took the hint and really steeled myself for the big challenge of medical school and, then later, made it into medical school.

Bill: Yeah, that's an interesting story. It is fascinating to hear how people wind up where they do. So, you are board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, and sports medicine. Pretty wide range. How did you become board-certified in so many different disciplines?

William Thomas, MD: Right. Well, after completing medical school, I went on to residency. And when I was in residency or internship, they had a very competitive internal medicine and pediatrics combined residency. They also had a very strong or have a very strong internal medicine residency, a very strong pediatric residency, which really helped that much smaller, but also well-reputed internal medicine-pediatrics combo residency. And as much as I liked each discipline, I really wanted to be able to take care of both pediatric patients and adult patients. And I figured why not? So, I did the dually combined residency. And when I graduated from that residency, I boarded in both. And then, I went on to fellowship in sports medicine. So I actually did a sports medicine fellowship, a primary care sports medicine fellowship. And then, afterwards there's a certificate of added qualification that you take. It's another board exam to get boarded in that. So, just kind of how the cookie crumbled and I ended up being triple-boarded.

Bill: Triple-boarded. I love that phrase. That's pretty good. So, how did you wind up then at Valley Sports and Spine Clinic? It looks like you navigated more towards the sports medicine end of things.

William Thomas, MD: Right. Yeah. So, when I first got out of fellowship, it was a combined fellowship with the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as Virginia Tech. They have a very robust sports program there and sports medicine program. And then, I settled in this same area. So, I went in with a big, corporate hospital system and started doing primary care, so I could do my outpatient internal medicine, I could do my outpatient pediatrics all in the same practice. And then, patients came in with strains and sprains and sports injuries, I could just fold them right into the workflow. So, actually, a primary care setting worked out really well, and I did that for a number of years. And I inherited a practice that had been there for many years. And after a while, I wasn't quite seeing the amount of sports medicine that I wanted to see. I didn't have some of the tools that would really accentuate my ability to provide sports medicine coverage. And then, I had an opportunity pop up with Valley Sport and Spine and they're very much set up to do a lot of sports medicine. And so, when they said, "Hey, you can continue your primary care there as well," it was an easy decision.

Bill: So, it sounds like it was a really good fit as well. So, what do you love most about what you do? What do you find most rewarding about being a doctor?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, gosh. So many things, it's hard to point to one. But several of my passions, obviously being sports medicine, I'm really enjoying sports medicine ultrasound now that I have ultrasound equipment to be able to have at my disposal, x-ray equipment to have at my disposal, which is really helpful in a lot of the assessment and diagnoses of sports injury. So just having that, I feel like a kid in a candy store. But also, from my primary care, really enjoy seeing the pediatric cases and the well visits and watching a child grow up, you end up taking care of the whole family, which I really like. And even into adult medicine, I particularly enjoy type 2 diabetes management. I really enjoy weight loss management and tackling the absolute epidemic of obesity. And when you can work with a patient and help them start to change their lifestyle in a way that they're living healthier and they start losing weight when they really need to, really gratifying. So, lots of different things that I kind of enjoy that are part of the practice.

Bill: That does have to be rewarding when you see the difference in a person. You mentioned I help change their life. How satisfying is that to you? When somebody comes to you with an issue or a problem and through your medicine and your tutelage and your understanding and your doctorship, you really are able to change their life, how rewarding is that?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, it's really rewarding and I get a lot of gratification out of it, and it comes from a lot of counseling. I think that one of the pitfalls that we have in American medicine is we're not able to spend the time with the patients that we really need to do the amount of teaching that we know to do in terms of helping not only primary prevention, but then just teaching people about their disease state, right? And so, if you can take that time to teach them, then they become more invested in their own healthcare. And once they become vested in their healthcare, you know, sky's the limit. They're willing to change things, especially if you can break it down and make it achievable steps. Set them up for a plan to succeed. Don't set them up to fail. But it takes knowing your patient. It takes having a camaraderie with your patient. You got to develop the trust. And all of those things take time, right?

Bill: Yeah. That education, that trust, that's so valuable in such an important relationship. So, I'd love to shift a little bit to learn about your personal life. Can you tell us about your family?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, yeah. I'm very proud. I have three wonderful kids, a daughter in college and then a set of younger twins in middle school. And all three are doing very well, excelling in their own ways. It's real exciting and gratifying to watch them grow up. It happens fast as every parent will tell you. But, yeah, they're certainly the joys of my life.

Bill: Yeah, time does fly when you're a parent. There's no doubt about that. So twins, how exciting, challenging, fun was that?

William Thomas, MD: Yeah, boy-girl, twins. I had them with my wife at the time in residency, and that was a lot of no sleep, right? It worked out really well.

Bill: Yeah. You certainly had a lot going on then, that's for sure. So what do you do for fun when you're not being a doctor?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, gosh. I really enjoy the outdoors. Any chance I get to go biking or hiking, I kind of tend to relish that. I certainly enjoy travel when I get the opportunity, and not only culturally, but just having a vacation and kind of a new adventure is always very fun and exciting to me. But then, just staying fit. I enjoy exercise. I try to mix things up a little bit. And spending time with the kids is kind of where my focus is.

Bill: Absolutely. So, you mentioned travel, any exotic place you'd love to go to or travel to that you haven't been able to do so yet?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, man, that list is long. I mean, I would really love to be able to see Australia. I think would be kind of my biggest bucket list item if I could get there. Maybe New Zealand, that might have to be the same trip if it ever happens. But yeah, there are many places. You wouldn't have to twist my arm very hard to try to sightsee.

Bill: There's no if, Dr. Thomas. You're going to make it. I see it in your future. Australia and New Zealand, it's happening. It's happening. So tell us, is there an interesting fact that people may not know about you? I love this question. Anything interesting that people would go, "You know what? I like this, but people wouldn't think that I do this."

William Thomas, MD: Right. Gosh, that's a good one. Well, a lot of people are surprised to find out that I'm a veteran, a former Navy corpsman. That kind of surprises people a bit. I tend to have been a thrill seeker at times in my life. So, I enjoy things like scuba diving, skiing, kind of some of these more aggressive sport options that might surprise people from time to time. But really, once you get to know me, you're kind of like, "Yeah, he'd probably do that."

Bill: Any risk-taking adventures you'd like to do in the future or adventure in the future?

William Thomas, MD: I've really never had the chance to skydive, and I think that would be something I would really enjoy. I'm not so much a bungee jumping kind of guy. I think that that yanking on the chain would be quite aggressive. Though when you deploy parachute, evidently, there's quite a bit of jerk on that as well. But when I was in the military, I always tried to get myself to get to jump school and the cookie just didn't crumble that way. So, yeah, if I ever had the chance to do that, I'd probably, well, jump at it.

Bill: Yeah. Wow, that's interesting. That's not one thing I think am interested in doing, is jumping out of an airplane. So, another question I love to ask is when I talk to people like you, you have such a fascinating background and storied career as you told us from your friend who passed away unfortunately, and kind of got you thinking about medicine to your time in the Navy. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self as you look back over your life?

William Thomas, MD: Yeah, the 20/20 hindsight. I think that I was a rather late bloomer. I think that my life, it unfolded this way and I kind of slowly progressed at things, because I didn't see the potential in myself that eventually I started to be able to uncover. And, especially during my high school years, I didn't apply myself nearly to the extent that I could have, right? But you also kind of have to be driven. You kind of have to know what it is you're going for. And at that time, I kind of liked a lot of things. I didn't really love anything. And you kind of have to wait to find your passion. But if there's anything I could do, it would be to try to advise him to, "Hey, try to find that passion a little earlier," but that's what stokes the fires and that's what keeps the interest and that's what keeps you being able to study late at night and follow things all the way through. You have to have a goal and a passion. And once I got into respiratory care, everything started to kind of click. But until then, I was kind of not lost per se, I enjoyed my time kind of in the woods, if you will. I wasn't really lost in the woods, but I didn't really have a direction. So, just trying to maybe spend some more time and thought into what do you really want to do? You know, what do you want to make of things? And just be patient with them. Be patient and let things kind of develop on their own. But when you see it, be doggedly determined to go after it.

Bill: Absolutely. Let things organically happen on their own, but try to find those passions and desire a little earlier and then get after it.

William Thomas, MD: Right. Absolutely.

Bill: That's really, really interesting. So last question, Dr. Thomas, and thank you for your time. What do you love most about working at Valley Sports and Spine Clinic?

William Thomas, MD: Well, yeah, there's so much to like. I've been here for about two months now. It's been great. My practice partner, Dr. Colliver, is awesome. The whole team here really pitches together. We kind of work as a family, which is really enjoyable. It's a can-do kind of attitude and we get things done, and you can't put a price on that. It really makes it fun to come to work on Mondays, and so that probably excites me the most.

Bill: Yeah, that can-do attitude and happy to get things done, that sounds like a great work environment and a great place for people to come to get well, for sure. Well, Dr. Thomas, thank you so much for your time. This has been great getting to know you a little bit more. We appreciate it.

William Thomas, MD: Well, I thank you, Bill. I appreciate it very much.

Bill: Absolutely. And if someone wants to learn more about Valley Sports and Spine Clinic or book an appointment with you, what should they do?

William Thomas, MD: Oh, yeah, so Valley Sport and Spine, you can find it on the web. You can find it on Facebook. And you can even call us here at 540-443-3832 in Valley Support and Spine, and we're happy to schedule for an appointment and see what we can do for you.

Bill: That sounds great. Dr. Thomas, thank you so much again. We appreciate it. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is the Top Docs podcast. I'm Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.