�ܼ�����ˮ��̳

��

Earl Stewart Jr., MD, FACP

— OCCUPATION —
Primary Care Physician and Medical Director of Health Equity
Wellstar Health System, Atlanta, GA
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Augusta University/University of Georgia Campus Partnership
Augusta, GA
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Meharry Medical College, Physician Assistant Sciences Program
Nashville, TN

— MEDICAL SCHOOL —
Meharry Medical College School of Medicine
Nashville, TN

— INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENCY —
Warren G. Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Affiliated Hospitals
Providence, RI

What is your current position?

I currently serve as a Primary Care Physician and system-wide Medical Director of Health Equity for the Wellstar Health System in Atlanta, Georgia. I also serve as Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine with the Augusta University/University of Georgia Campus Partnership, offering elective clerkships to medical students. I have additional academic partnerships with Meharry Medical College's Physician Assistant Sciences Program where I teach students who rotate with me.

Where did you attend medical school and post grad training?

I attended medical school at Meharry Medical College School of Medicine followed by internship and residency at Brown University and affiliated hospitals (Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Providence VA Medical Center).

Why did you choose to become a physician?

Medicine is a ministry for me and has always been, for me, a calling. When I wrote my personal statement as a part of my medical school application nearly 20 years ago, I remember stating that I wanted to devote my life to “helping others help themselves,” stimulated by an intense desire to extend the healing hand of health care to those who are marginalized and with unequal access to care. The true impetus for this was knowing that family members in rural Georgia did not have access to certain necessary health care services, and my answer to that was to become a physician to help eliminate that health care disparity.

What field of internal medicine did you select and why?

I chose to remain in primary care and not enter fellowship because that, for me, was where the greatest need was and continues to remain for those entering the medical profession. Primary care practice is the very foundation of the medical profession and physicians who practice it are fundamental to how all patients intersect with the health care ecosystem. I decided to choose a vein of clinical practice where I was needed most and where I could have the greatest impact, whether it be by seeing patients, touching the future of medicine by teaching students, or engaging in leadership opportunities and developing strategic partnerships to advance equitable access to health care for all. Being a primary care physician provides me with a unique opportunity to do all of that.

Please describe a typical day in your practice.

My time is split 50/50 between clinical practice—where I may also do some teaching of students—and administrative work in our system toward advancing community health, DEIB, and population health initiatives and programs. I see patients a full day on Monday and Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday. Patients will present on these days for a variety of needs, including annual physicals, Medicare wellness visits, problem-based visits, and urgent care needs. On Thursdays and Fridays, I'm leading and engaging in meetings and service opportunities with other health system leaders and community partners to improve access to care and effect initiatives to create and advance health equity for the patients we serve, improving diversification of our health care workforce and fostering inclusivity and belonging for our current and new team members and clinical staff who are integral parts of our health system family.

What are some of your special interests professionally?

I'm intensely passionate about mentoring and recruiting unrepresented and underrepresented groups into the profession of medicine. I teach about it. Present about it. Work with my teams to improve it. It matters. I am also equally passionate about the intersection between the climate crisis, environmental justice work, and health equity, given climate change is the number one public health threat to optimal health of our lifetimes. I teach about it too. Study it. Present about it and work inside and outside of my health system with community partners and advocacy groups to make sustainable, positive, and long-lasting change that protects all but really those vulnerable populations who are impacted the most. The interaction between spiritual wellness/spirituality and health care has always been a clinical and research interest of mine, stretching all the way back to residency where I first learned about it and presented on it at local ACP conferences.

What are your interests and hobbies outside of medicine?

I love to garden, travel internationally, read and write poetry, and collect African American fine art. I founded and have recorded for the Poetry in Medicine podcast since May 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and it has won remarkable acceptance in the medical podcast space for the goal of fostering humanism and empathy in the healing arts. I also, in another life, serve as the Founder/CEO of the Dr. Earl Stewart, Jr., Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, through which I and my family have been able to do some very impactful work throughout our state and region since its inception. I'm very proud of and honored by the work we are able to do through our small, family-run foundation.

What advice would you like to share with medical students or what do you wish someone would have told you while you were in medical school?

Take your training with you wherever you go and never forget your original personal mission for entering the profession of medicine. Embrace curiosity and be an ever-interested sponge. Love yourself first. Devote time to self-care and develop those strategies now. Always remember: In your career, you have options for how you work but you have to access the tools and ask the right questions to be able to do so. You are worthy of those conversations. Finally, never be afraid to be visible in the community whenever possible to do the most good. Truly, effectual health care and the best outcomes are influenced by what is outside of your office, hospital, and examination rooms.

Which living person do you most admire?

My Mother, for her resiliency and wisdom, and for being my first introduction to leadership.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Giving my life to Christ in July of 1995.

What is your most treasured possession?

My wedding ring.

What is your motto?

Before healing others, heal thyself.

Back to the December 2024 issue of ACP IMpact

More I.M. Internal Medicine Profiles