For James T. Dove, MD, pursuing one’s vision is key to personal, professional success

When not in professional or leadership roles, Dove enjoys history, hunting and spending time with his family.

Following his medical training, James T. Dove, MD, struck out on his own to found one of the premier cardiovascular consulting firms in the Midwest.

Dove received his MD from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland in 1965 and completed his cardiology training at the University of Rochester in New York. In 1973, he practiced medicine in Springfield, Ill., before leaving to found Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants. The group grew from one member at its inception to a 47-member team of cardiologists, a CV surgeon and a vascular internist that offers services in six locations throughout Illinois. Dove also maintains a role in academia, where he serves as a clinical professor of medicine at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.

Dove has served in leadership roles in a variety of professional societies and is particularly active within the American College of Cardiology. He has served on numerous task forces, guideline-writing committees and working groups within the College and has served as the organization’s treasurer, vice president and is the current immediate past president of the ACC.

In addition to his leadership roles, Dove has also received numerous awards and honors, including an Outstanding Clinician Laureate Award from the Illinois chapter of the American College of Physicians, as well as masterships from both the ACP and the ACC. He is also the recipient of the John Paul Harris Fellowship Award from the Springfield Rotary Club, given for outstanding community achievement.

James T. Dove, MD Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill. President Emeritus of Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants. Member, Practice Management and Quality Care section of Cardiology Today’s Editorial Board.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not practicing medicine?

I enjoy playing with the grandchildren. I also enjoy hunting and fishing. In Illinois, hunting and fishing is a big thing to do, and I do a fair amount of that when not practicing medicine. I have many friends outside of medicine who hunt and fish, and it is fun because I do not actually end up talking medicine with them.

If you hadn’t gone into cardiology, what would you have done?

I really enjoy history. When I do read outside of medicine, it is mostly historical reading. I probably would have concentrated on becoming a history professor or something of that sort.

What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?

I would say that starting the Prairie Cardiovascular Group in Springfield in 1979 was a success. At the time I started, it was just me. Now we have 47 cardiologists. It was originally located only in Springfield, and now it has gone to 39 different communities in central and southern Illinois. That, I feel, is one of my biggest professional successes.

What is the last book you read / art collection you saw / CD you bought? Why, and what did you think of it?

The last book I read was Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It was a great book. Obviously, Springfield is the land of Lincoln, so everyone reads Lincoln books around here. But I enjoyed it primarily as a good history book.

There was a Monet exhibit that I attended a few years ago at the Chicago Art Institute. It was phenomenal, but of course, I am a Monet fan.

I did buy one CD earlier this year, but I just do not buy very many of them. It was a live Genesis album that I bought to listen to when I flew overseas for a trip, and it was a fantastic performance.

Who do you most admire, and what would you ask that person if you had five minutes with him/her?

The person that I really most admired was my father, and he died when I was younger than 17 years old. I did not have a chance to talk to him about what I wanted to do in the future. I would love to be able to talk to him now and find out his ideas. That would be a thrill for me. I admired him because of the principles he and my mother instilled, and I have done what I have done because of them.

Dr. Dove with his family. Photo courtesy of James T. Dove, MD

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I have ever received was to continue to persevere, continue to do the right thing and live your dream and do what you want to do. That was from my parents. Nobody in my family had ever gone to college, and obviously nobody had ever practiced medicine, so going to college and practicing medicine was something that I had not thought of. I had relatives who thought I would not be able to do a certain course because it was too rigorous, so maybe that drove me to complete the course. To be truthful, it was very difficult. I left home to go to college two months after my father died, and my mother was left there alone. She had been a homemaker but was suddenly going to have to support herself. She had not been in the workforce for 20 years, and I am sure that it would have been easier on her if I had stayed home. Of course, she did not say that at all. She told me I needed to go ahead and pursue my dreams.

Who do you consider a mentor?

I would say that some of the teachers at the University of Rochester, where I did my cardiology training, were my mentors. Those people are Bernie Schreiner, MD, Jerry Murphy, MD, and Prediman Shaw, MD. These people were mentors to me and helped me get my foothold in cardiology. I had considered staying on to work with them at the University of Rochester. That would have been one goal I could have reached, but I had a different vision in terms of developing a large CV group, and that opportunity looked like it could happen in Springfield.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I do exercise regularly on a treadmill and run for about 45 minutes every morning. I do not look like that because I follow a diet that is heavily loaded with ice cream. There are many things that I do that interfere with ideal weight management in terms of working long hours and getting less sleep. I frequently function on four or five hours of sleep, and that is not good as far as weight loss is concerned. I have been on many diets with very limited success. If I did not do the exercise portion, I would probably look like the Goodyear blimp.

What do you think will have the biggest influence on cardiology in the next 10 years?

The biggest influence will come from health care reform. There is little question that whatever happens with health care reform is going to affect cardiology, and the important issue is that cardiologists and CV surgeons need to be at the forefront in terms of trying to influence what those changes are. Hopefully, we will be listened to. We have a good understanding of what patients need. We see patients at some of the most fearful times in their lives in terms of having heart disease, so there is a tremendous amount of trust fashioned by the patients. We need to design a system that is effective for the country and not one that is effective for politicians. However this plays out — even within the next few months and years — will affect cardiology over the next 10 years and beyond.

What is your favorite travel destination?

My wife and I have traveled a fair amount throughout the world. Italy is such a fun country, and we enjoy going there. We have not traveled overseas a lot recently, though. These days, we travel in the United States to visit grandchildren and to be with other family members.

What is your favorite restaurant?

There are a limited number of restaurants in Springfield, as it is a small community. One of the restaurants we go to with good food is a small Italian restaurant called Bella Milano. When we go to Chicago, we try to go to Spaggia, which is a great restaurant on Michigan Avenue. – by Eric Raible