Joey Wahler (Host): He's a doctor relatively new to Woodlawn Health who also runs marathons. So we're getting to know our guest, Dr. Anthony Witt, a Family Medicine Physician with Woodlawn Health. This is Woodlawn Health DocTalk, a podcast from Woodlawn Health. Thanks for listening. I'm Joey Wahler. Hi there, Dr. Witt. Thanks for joining us.

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Hi, Joey. Thanks for having me.

Host: Great to have you aboard. So first, in a nutshell, what first made you want to become a doctor?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: I think the idea kind of came to me early in high school. We had some teachers that kind of pushed us to think about what we might want to do as a career. I didn't have any physicians in my family, but there were a couple of nurses in the family, which kind of made me think a little bit more towards medical field.

But I was thankfully able to shadow my personal family physician when I was a junior in high school and just spending the one day with him, kind of fell in love with the idea of forming these long term relationships with patients. And that kind of put me on the path, I guess.

Host: Interesting because I've been told by other doctors over the years, that when they were in high school or in college, that they had an experience where they got to shadow a doctor or doctors. That can really be very influential, especially if you already have an interest, right?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: It can, and I think that goes for all career paths. You have the opportunity to spend some time with maybe what you might be interested in at a young age, it can kind of form a long lasting impression on what you feel about that field, good or bad. So it can kind of help guide, you know, which direction you need to go coming out of high school.

Host: Yeah, I guess it could also tell you if something's not for you as well, but in your case that, was not it, obviously. And so many people better off for that. Speaking of which, why your preference in particular for family medicine?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Well, I think partly because that was the first type of physician that I spent time with, my family physician when I shadowed him. So that was of step one. I think a lot of people not in the medical community don't realize how many different areas in medicine you can go. So, even when I entered into medical school, I kind of thought, well, you've got your surgeons and you've got your primary care providers.

And I know there's specialists out there, but it's kind of a vague area. So as we progress through medical school, I tried to place myself into each of those specialties mentally, what I enjoy being in cardiology, what I enjoy being in the surgical field, and I enjoyed every single one of them, which usually points you towards being more of a generalist, rather than being a specialist.

And so, family medicine allows me to do GI stuff, it allows me to do cardiac stuff, I get to do some office procedures, so it just kind of works well for my personality that I get to enjoy a little bit of everything.

Host: Gotcha. So as mentioned at the top, you're new to Woodlawn, having joined them this year. What brought you here?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: So, I, currently live in Plymouth, which is about 30 minutes north, and I have some friends that work for the Woodlawn Health System and have heard great things over the last several years. I really am drawn to the small health system, the small independent health system and love the autonomy that that gives the providers in that network.

And when I started having formal discussions with Woodlawn, just enjoyed more the idea of working for a small health system that's right in our backyard.

Host: So to follow up on that, as you well know, often in larger communities, doctors don't really have a chance to spend quite as much time with patients because they're so busy and it's often one patient out, the next one in a short time thereafter, maybe right after. So how do you take advantage of the opportunity of your ability to build those relationships in your situation?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Well, it's challenging because you're right. I think especially in large urban communities people can be seen more like numbers. But the challenge we have in rural areas is that we service larger geographic areas, so we have large patient volumes, but fewer providers. So we still have large amounts of patients that we have to get through the door every day, but being in a smaller community where we're often going to be running into our patients when we're out in public, we need to find a way to, in a short time window, build a really strong connection with them.

In an urban setting, might not be that need to really try and connect with your patients because you're likely never going to run into them in a large city. But being in Plymouth where I am running into my patients all the time, I need to make sure that in that 10, 15, 20 minute window, not only are we covering their medical conditions and problems, that we are also forming a good long term relationship, and that doesn't happen in one or two visits.

It takes a few years before you really feel like you truly know that patient. So it's not a short term process, but as long as from the very first visit, both sides are trying to work towards a long term relationship, it works well.

Host: And when you are able to establish more of a close long term relationship on a doctor patient basis, it's not only something that's nice and friendly, but it really makes a difference in doing better work medically, doesn't it? Because that familiarity breeds being able to better diagnose and refer and so on, right?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Absolutely. I learn patients preferences. So, there are patients of mine who before I even go in the room, I know how they're going to react to the things that we need to talk about. I know how they would like to receive the news. There are some patients who need me to be a little bit more delicate with how I approach certain recommendations and certain diagnoses. And there are other patients that I know, hey, they just want me to be blunt and I can just get right to it. So, the early visits, you kind of have to treat every patient the same because I don't know their personalities, but as I get to know each one, I can kind of customize how I interact with them in the room based off of what's going to be the best experience for both of us.

Host: Gotcha. You mentioned sometimes you actually run into your patients in the community. So if you're online at the supermarket, let's say, doc, you ever have people tap you on the shoulder and say, how's it going? Boy, I've got this pain in my back. Do you think I can get an appointment next week?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: You know, it's not been too bad. They will often wave or smile or say hi, but I think generally patients, they don't want to bring up their personal medical stuff around other people. Now, if we're in a smaller setting where maybe it's a little quieter, we're further removed, then I'll get some personal questions.

But when it's for instance, at the supermarket, normally it's just a friendly wave, and then we kind of go about our normal business.

Host: But when you are practicing in a smaller, more rural type community as you are, I would imagine it also creates not just a familiarity, but also a commonality, doesn't it? In that these are largely people coming to you that are living in similar surroundings to you. And that can be beneficial too, right?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Yeah, we all are experiencing the same struggles or the same great things in our local communities. My family is here in Plymouth. I'm raising two kids with my wife here in Plymouth. So concerns for my patients' families are often concerns that we also have, or things that my patients are looking forward to, whether it's an event in the local community, or a new business that's coming in, also excites my family because we all benefit from that. So I think patients appreciate having their providers from the community that they live in because we all are kind of experiencing life the same way.

Host: How about the fact that you're here now, but where are you from originally?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: My home is in a small town in Southern Indiana, Jasonville. For those familiar with the geography of Indiana; it's about a 30 minute south of Terre Haute.

Host: And so to be able to go through everything a doctor must, in order to become a physician, scholastically and all the hours devoted and so on, and then be able to practice in your home state. What's that like?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Wonderful. When I made the decision to go to medical school, I had always had the goal of practicing in Indiana. Where at, I didn't know at the time, you know, there was obviously the idea that I might return home. My wife's family is from southwest Michigan, and when I came out of residency, that's when my wife started looking for a job, and she took a job in Warsaw, I had taken a job in Plymouth, and so it just kind of lined well that Indiana is where we were going to stick, and it's close to both of our families, and I think, again, patients really appreciate, even though I'm not from Rochester originally, I'm not from Plymouth originally, I think patients appreciate that I am a Hoosier born and raised, like many of them, and there's just that commonality that makes us more similar than not.

Host: I would imagine so. Any basketball in your background?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Yes, not as much as I would have dreamed when I was a little kid, but I did play until my junior year of high school. My dreams of playing in college were thwarted when I realized I just didn't have the talent for that. And my talent was more in running. So I eventually gave up baseball as well.

Host: Because obviously, as you well know, doc, when you think about states in this country that are closely associated with the game of hoops, Indiana would be right up there.

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Oh, absolutely. I don't think there was a single kid in my high school class that didn't dream of playing college ball somewhere. But you know, the reality of the situation is not many of us get the blessing to go on and do that. So we have to find our niche somewhere else.

Host: But as you just alluded to, running became your specialty, if you will, away from your doctor's offices. And so you have a wife and two children, but you're an avid runner having completed more than 30 marathons, I'm told, and ultra marathons as well. So tell us what you love most about doing that and what is an ultra marathon?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: So an ultra marathon is any race that's longer than the standard 26.2 marathon distance. So that's kind of a vague category because there are distance events. So, 50 kilometer races, 50 mile races, 100 mile races, and then there are timed events, you know, how far can you run in 12 hours, 24 hours, and it goes up to 10 days potentially in some races.

I ran in college, the standard cross country track and field. When I went to medical school, I was not going to have the time to dedicate to be really the elite marathoner that I would have normally dreamed to become. So I kind of went more longer distance rather than faster. And, I've always been drawn to ultra endurance events, even in high school, I did a research paper on it.

So just something about challenging the human spirit in these distance events that keeps me coming back time and time again. And thankfully my wife is usually crewing me at all these races and helping me out and taking care of the kids at the same time. So I wouldn't be able to do any of that stuff without her.

But that is probably my greatest passion outside of medicine is to be out on my feet, going as far as time will allow me to.

Host: So wait a minute now. You're saying there are those that sometimes run a hundred miles?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Yeah, I've covered that distance in three different races. That's not probably the most common. A lot of the, I'd say the majority of ultra runners stick with like the 50 kilometer and 50 mile races, so that's about 32 miles. And then the 50 mile race distance, but there is growing popularity in the longer ultra races, so 100 miles, there's even 200 mile races out that I have not yet tried to go after that distance, but yes, I done a few of the 100 mile distances at this point.

Host: And your wife is okay with this?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: She, she is, she questions it. I don't think she fully understands why, but thankfully she is, out there in the conditions with me, making sure that I'm staying fueled, because often these races are in more isolated places. These aren't typically in cities. They're out on trails in the middle of nowhere. So, although there's aid stations with the races, she is normally out there making sure I'm taking care of myself.

Host: And what's your best time for a hundred mile run?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: My best time is 15 hours, just over 15 hours and 11 minutes. That was last summer.

Host: If I ever ran a hundred miles in one shot, doc, and somebody asked me what my best time was, you know what my answer would be? Life. As long as I can finish in this lifetime, that would be a good bar, I think.

Anthony Witt, M.D.: I get something about that response every time, but you know, I've been competitively running for now two full decades. So I've built very slowly up to this level.

Host: Indeed, it's a specialty unto itself. While you may not be a specialist in your medical work, you're certainly a specialist on the athletic side. Let me ask you a couple other things, as a doctor, and you touched on this briefly. How do you find the time to properly train for much less run these long distances?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Certainly in residency, that was a challenge because our schedule changed a lot and doing a lot of overnight call, but with a more predictable, mostly outpatient schedule, I can be up at 4:30 in the morning to get an hour to an hour and a half in before we're getting the kids up and getting them ready for daycare, and getting myself ready for work. So, all of my mileage is pretty much before the sun comes up during the week and then pretty long, before the sun comes up on the weekends as well.

Host: And what's your favorite marathon or other longer distance run that you've done so far?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: That's a great question. Well, my very first completed marathon was Grandma's Marathon up in Duluth, Minnesota back in 2000, 2012, I think, 2011, 2012. And that's a beautiful point to point course. So, although not the ultra marathon distance, that was a beautiful course. And although I didn't reach the goal I wanted, I did a 15 hour, 100 miler. That was as part of a 24 hour event last summer in Milwaukee, and that was a unique event because it's on an indoor track. So that was a very fun event. Although it would sound like torture to most. It was mostly enjoyable for me.

Host: I wanted to ask you just to wrap up the running conversation when you're done running a hundred miles, what does your body feel like?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: It's pretty rough. It's better now than when I first started doing them because I'm better trained for them. But my wife affectionately calls me grandpa after the races because I often will be walking around with a limp and having trouble with stairs for a few days. But, generally it takes about four to five days to fully recover from it and then it's back to running like usual then.

Host: That sounds awesome. And so finally, Doc, in summary here, as a relative newcomer to Woodlawn, what reputation would you say you're trying to establish with your patients? What do you want them to know you for?

Anthony Witt, M.D.: The thing that I always enjoy hearing from patients is when at the end of the visit or maybe days later, they tell me that they enjoyed that I was actually listening to them. Which is in a way, good to hear in a way, sad to hear that that is a compliment because that means there might be a lot of providers out there that are not listening to their patients, which should be the basis of how we do medicine.

But guess I'd like to be known as a provider that will actually take the time to listen because as I was taught multiple times through medical school, the patients will often tell you the answer if you're just willing to listen to them. Now that's not always the case. Sometimes we have to piece apart the pertinent from the non pertinent, but as long as we take our time and listen to the patients and sit down at the discussion table together to come up with a plan, usually we're heading in the right direction.

Host: Well, folks, we trust you're now more familiar with Dr. Anthony Witt. Doctor, a pleasure. Good luck at Woodlawn, as well as on the long distance running courses of America, and thanks so much again.

Anthony Witt, M.D.: Thank you so much for having me.

Joey Wahler (Host): Absolutely. And for more information please visit woodlawnhospital.org. Again, that's woodlawnhospital.org. Now, if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media.

I'm Joey Wahler. And thanks again for listening to Woodlawn Health Talk, a podcast from Woodlawn Health.