Paul L. Douglass, MD, helping to redefine health care for women, minorities

The advice of a guidance counselor set Douglass on a path to becoming a prominent cardiologist and lecturer.

Although actively involved in medicine and using his training to help members of his community, Paul L. Douglass, MD, spends as much time as he can with family and traveling abroad.

Douglass, a native of Nashville, Tenn., received his undergraduate degree in biology from Northwestern University in 1972 and then returned to Nashville, where he received his MD degree at Meharry Medical College in 1976. He joined Metropolitan Atlanta Cardiology Consultants 6 years later, where he now practices clinical and interventional cardiology. Douglass is also the chief of the division of cardiology and director at the Cardiovascular Services, Atlanta Medical Center, where he is also chairman of the hospital board, and the clinical assistant professor of cardiology at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Paul L. Douglass, MD Practices clinical and interventional cardiology at Metropolitan Atlanta Cardiology Consultants Chief of the Division of Cardiology and Director at the Cardiovascular Services, Atlanta Medical Center Chairman of the hospital board, Atlanta Medical Center Clinical assistant professor of cardiology at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta Member, CHD and Prevention section of Cardiology Today’s Editorial Board

Additionally, Douglass has received numerous awards, including the Physician of the Year Award from the Atlanta Medical Association, the Distinguished Service Medallion from the Georgia State Medical Association and the Hero Award from the Association of Black Cardiologists. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Georgia chapter of the American College of Cardiology, of which he has served as president, and has participated on many committees and task forces for the ACC. He is also an active lecturer on a local, national and international level on various topics related to CVDs, with a special interest in CVDs in black patients and other underrepresented minorities.

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

I don’t do a whole lot more than practicing medicine, but I do enjoy exercising, jazz, reading and traveling. I also spend a lot of time with my family.

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

That’s pretty easy to answer. I probably would be a history teacher. When I was in college, I almost changed my major from pre-med to African-American history. But before changing, I was advised to talk with the African-American studies’ counselor. When I spoke with him, he said, “You’d probably make a pretty good history teacher, but we need more doctors than we do history teachers right now. I’m not sure this is a good idea. You need to rethink this.” I was flabbergasted. I had been encouraged by other members of the [African-American studies’] faculty to pursue this, telling me I’ll probably never get into medical school. So when he told me that, I knew I had to keep trying and not give up.

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

There are a couple things I am particularly proud of. The one thing that I’m probably professionally most proud of is that back in 1994, when I was president of the Association of Black Cardiologists, I wrote a couple editorials that I’d like to think helped to define where we were in CV medicine then, and I think is our current place in the dialogue of CV medicine. I started to talk about the need for health care reform and about the CV disparities that existed as it related to women and ethnic and minorities. At the time it was considered almost impolite conversation.

In addition to these editorials, I gave a paper at the ACC meeting that generated a bit of controversy at the time. So much so, that 20/20 came and filmed me for a week. It never aired because right as it was about to be aired a couple things happened, including the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., but it generated a bit of discussion. Shortly afterward, we started to accumulate more and more data on the disparities and problems with our health care delivery system, to the point where it is now a healthy discussion.

The other thing I’m particularly proud of is that the fact that our practice in Atlanta was the first [run by] African-American cardiologists. We’ve all been proud of the effort and service we’ve provided for our community.

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

The last book I read was The Innovator’s Prescription by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor. It’s about the health care reform efforts and how American medicine needs to be transformed, as well as graduate medical education. It’s an interesting read and provides insight into what’s wrong with our health care delivery system and how we got there. And he offers some out-of-the-box solutions about what direction American medicine should go in.

The last art I saw was from a trip my wife and I took to South Africa a few months ago. We viewed a lot of South African artwork and bought a nice bronze piece.

And the last music I purchased was an album called Intimacy from an artist called Kem, whose music is kind of a mix of jazz and R&B. He’s one of my favorite artists right now.

Whom do you most admire, and what would you ask that person if you had 5 minutes with him/her?

Probably Martin Luther King Jr. The question I would most like to ask him is where did he find the courage to face injustice and inhumanity. Living in Atlanta, I have had the opportunity to meet many of his family, and the legacy he left here in the city is tremendous. He is an inspiration to people all over the world as to how you should always try to do the right thing, even when the right thing might be uncomfortable or unpopular.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

I can’t remember who said this to me, perhaps I read it somewhere, but the best piece of advice is do what you love. When you wake up every morning, you want to wake up doing things you enjoy.

Paul L. Douglass, MD, spending time with his grandchildren, Noah (left) and Aiden. Photo courtesy of: Paul L. Douglass, MD

Whom do you consider your mentor?

That would be my mother. My mother pretty much raised me as a single mom and provided me with the inspiration to be successful. I can’t ever remember making a major life decision without her counsel. She’s always been right on the money.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I’m pretty much eating a Mediterranean diet right now. It’s high in fruit, vegetables, lots of fish, and occasionally red meat but not a lot. And then I run 6 miles of treadmill every day. So, I try to practice what I preach.

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

Genetics and personalized medicine is probably going to impact us more than anything else. I’d like to think that we are going to start to understand the fact that each individual is going to respond differently to pharmaceuticals and that we will be able to personalize a particular drug to suit the individual rather than treating a disease. I also think that our understanding of the human genome project and how we each respond to various pharmaceutical agents and treatment modalities in different ways will have a tremendous impact on how well we do our job and care for people. So I look forward to that.

What is your favorite travel destination?

My most favorite city in the world is Florence, Italy, and my second is Cape Town, South Africa. What I like about these locations is the ambiance. It’s a combination of weather, location, food and the spirit of the people. Both are very different and offer a unique ambiance.

What is your favorite restaurant?

A little place called La Grotta here in Atlanta that serves northern Italian food. Again, it’s the ambiance of the place, and I like Italian food — it’s my favorite food without a doubt. – by Brian Ellis