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In medical school at Baylor, Dr. Howard Mertz found himself in great demand—for his illustrated class notes.
“I was pretty artistic as a child,” laughs Mertz. “So when I got to med school, illustrating the notes helped me learn and I guess they helped others, too. My notes became somewhat notorious.”
Now a gastroenterologist specializing in endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound, Mertz does a number of second and third opinions on patients who are not easily treated. He credits his expertise to a background in research and physiology.
“I did a gastro fellowship at UCLA, then stayed on the faculty and did research through an NIH [National Institutes of Health] grant,” Mertz explains. “I believe that teaching medical physiology, combined with my research, made me a better private practice doctor.”
Interestingly, gastroenterology was not the specialty Mertz intended to pursue.
“In med school, my role models were oncologists, so I thought I would do that,” Mertz says. “But during residency at Johns Hopkins, I discovered an interest in procedural medicine. Endoscopy is the procedure that combines medicine and surgery.”
Having witnessed the huge strides in gastroenterology, Mertz explains that it’s a great challenge to stay updated in the latest trends. Also challenging are the increased regulations and electronic notes.
“I’ve always been highly motivated to help people, and part of that means finding time to spend with the patient,” Mertz says. “However, today’s healthcare environment is the enemy of time with the patient.”
Mertz cites William Nolen’s book Making of a Surgeonas a big motivator and says he is still inspired by the experiences he had in his “best summer job.”
“I worked as a medical aide at a nursing home and loved taking care of those old people,” Mertz says. “I was reminded of my grandmother who worked as a nurse. She first impressed upon me the high calling of the medical field.”
Howard Mertz, 615-383-0165; nashvillegi.com