EHS Pillars - Fall 2017

M.D. KNIGHTS
Two EHS grads discover a
satisfying life of challenges and
rewards in the field of medicine
AMANDA
SCHULTZ '05
Whole‐Hearted Care
As a family medicine practitioner, Amanda Schultz '05 is
that small town doctor in a big city who can handle common
ailments like the flu to life‐changing events like birth and
delivery. She feels privileged to serve others and be granted
such access into their personal lives, something Schultz sees
as a great honor.
What Schultz truly appreciates about her job is the unspoken
trust between doctor and patient that transcends the
boundaries of most professions. She takes pride in being
able to apply her knowledge to help improve the health of her
patients. Schultz has an up‐close and personal view of the
entire life span through her work as she sees patients in every
phase of life, from infancy to the sunset years.
EHS helped Schultz come into her own. Kim Randolph's
senior biology class made her consider entering medicine—
especially the day he brought freeze‐dried human lungs to
show the class. "I about fainted," she recalls. "I was disgusted
and fascinated all at the same time. I touched them, I studied
them, I held them up, and I overcame my initial horror. There
was something about touching those lungs that made
everything click for me. I was strangely drawn to them—I
wanted to know and see more of the human body that no
typical person gets to see, so I decided that day I was going
to be a doctor!"
A typical work day for Schultz begins at an outpatient Family
Health Center in downtown San Antonio. She sees patients
in the clinic four‐and‐a‐half days a week, but makes herself
available for any emergencies roughly seven days out of
the month. This means that if someone goes into labor or
needs to be admitted to the hospital, or one of her patients
in the hospital isn't doing well, she's the first one called to
help. Schultz also works for a family medicine residency with
deliveries and in the hospital.
"The rewards are
many, but the most rewarding experience in my job is being
the very first person to touch a baby you are delivering to
waiting parents. It's an adrenaline rush because, despite your
studies and practice, birth is never a completely controlled
process. Babies, moms, families, hospitals, equipment—all
of it can surprise you. And nothing compares to that point in
delivery that everyone has been waiting for and to see the
celebration in the arrival of a new person—for the family, of
course, but even for me."
Her day begins at 6:30 a.m. and by the time much of the
world begins to wake up, Schultz can be found reviewing
patient charts and her appointment schedule for the day.
These appointments vary from physical examinations to well
child check‐ups to prenatal appointments to procedures
(like toenail removals, joint injections, or skin lesion removals
and biopsies). With such variety in her hour‐to‐hour work,
Schultz has the opportunity to use a wide variety of tools and
problem‐solving skills for very important means—health and
well-being. From an education that focused on the whole
child to a job that focuses on the whole body and the whole
life, she feels thankful to do something so impactful to so
many.
"Few careers allow you to know others in such a way and
guide them through pivotal moments," Schultz explains,
"like the birth of a child, the remission of cancer, or the
recovery from a heart attack. It's fun, it's challenging, it's
heartbreaking, and it's incredibly satisfying. I provide care to
patients of every age, sex, and background. I use my whole
brain and whole heart every day."
—Emma Tsai
20