PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: David Gibson, MD

St. Thomas Heart Group Serving a rural community such as Henry County is one very rewarding benefit to his cardiology practice for David Gibson, MD. With his primary practice in Nashville with Saint Thomas Heart, the cardiac division of Saint Thomas Health, Gibson travels over two hours once a week to Paris, TN, to see patients. It is the relationships developed with his patients that is at the heart of why he chose medicine as a career. “In 2002, we were contacted about establishing an outreach area in Paris. Although it was two hours from Nashville, the idea was not beyond the realm of possibility,” said Gibson. “We have gone from once a week clinics to having a cardiologist there five days a week since the fall of 2013. Besides seeing patients in the office, we have the ability to perform a wide range of diagnostic procedures in addition to cardiac catheterization procedures.”The Saint Thomas Heart Group – Paris, TN, offers general cardiac care, as well as diagnostic cardiac care including stress testing, nuclear profusion, and echocardiography as well as heart catheterization procedures. “We have really become a full term cardiac practice in Paris with the exception of heart surgery and coronary intervention procedures. With a cardiologist there five days a week, we can see patients the hospitalists refer to us that are in the hospital, as well as patients in our office,” said Gibson. “What it means for the community is there is  a broad spectrum of cardiac services at home without having to travel to a larger city for treatment or to see a physician. Two of my colleagues specialize in advanced heart failure and transplantation. By having them in Paris one day a week, patients that may need that level of treatment can see the specialist in Paris to evaluate if they qualify. It has been a great clinic, there for both us and the community.”An Arizona native, Gibson grew up with no major medical influences in his life, but found science intrigued him throughout school. He majored in biochemistry at the University of Arizona but as his undergraduate career progressed, he questioned whether he would stay in the field of science. “I knew with biochemistry I would most likely be working in industry or research,” said Gibson. “I had always seen myself as a people person and wasn’t sure I would be comfortable being in a lab all the time. For a time, I sort of juggled between medical school and physical therapy.” After completing his Bachelor’s degree, Gibson took a year off to work in research at a cancer center. “I had missed the deadline to apply to medical school and that year sort of gave me a chance to catch my breath. It was also a matriculation of my interest in science and my desire to interact with people. It really gave me the clear direction toward medicine I needed,” said Gibson. “I also got married to my wife Wendy in that year, so we had a little bit of time to ourselves before the chaos of medical school started.”Gibson received his medical degree from the University of Arizona but was open to going elsewhere to complete his internship and residency training in internal medicine. As he looked at various programs, he found he really liked the program at Vanderbilt University. “Coming from Arizona, I didn’t want to go too far North or East and have to live in the cold,” said Gibson. “But I really liked Vanderbilt and the handful of people that I met there. We were expecting our first child, a son, when we moved and were made to feel so welcome by all the Southern hospitality showered on us when we arrived.” It was rotations in his third and fourth years of medical school that got Gibson thinking cardiology. In his month long cardiac surgery rotation, Gibson spent time watching Jack Copeland, MD, a well known authority in cardiac surgery, primarily transplantation. “To be able to go into the operating room and see these absolutely amazing surgeries got me to looking at cardiology. I wasn’t sure at first if I wanted to go the medical route or surgical but it was still an instrumental time for me to make the decision on which path to choose.”After completing his internship, Gibson was considering either gastroenterology or cardiology as his specialty, but it was cardiology that won out and he remained at Vanderbilt to complete a cardiology fellowship. “Cardiology combined medicine, surgery and technology,” said Gibson. “You have the ability to do so many different things and it is never the same thing each day which I find exciting.” Although he planned to return to Arizona to start his practice after completing his fellowship in 1997, Gibson found that all the pieces were falling into place to keep his family, which now included a daughter, in Nashville. Today, Gibson is with the same group of physicians, which is now known as Saint Thomas Heart. Just as his practice has grown, so did his family over the years to include another son. After 16 years of practice, Gibson likes where he is. “I love getting to know my patients here and feel like this is home, even though I don’t live here,” said Gibson. “Many of my patients hate the idea of going to the ‘big’ city especially as they age and they really appreciate that we will come here to see them. I have gotten such satisfaction in developing personal relationships with those I have treated over the years and I can say I definitely love my outreach days.”