Hooked on ID with Darcy Wooten, MD, MS
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I never had any intention of pursuing a career in infectious diseases — or medicine for that matter.
I was originally drawn to comparative literature and wanted to be a high school English teacher. During sophomore year we found out that my mom had been chronically infected with hepatitis C virus from a prior blood transfusion. Her diagnosis and two unsuccessful rounds of interferon and ribavirin significantly impacted our family. I enrolled in a course called “Humans and Viruses” later that year to better understand HCV, and from there, I was hooked.
My decision to pursue a career in ID continued to be reaffirmed throughout my experiences and training. As someone who always has trouble saying “no” to anything, I love the fact that in ID, there are so many areas that can be explored from basic and translational research to clinical care to global public health.
My current position focuses on HIV primary care. In this role, I get to be both a primary care provider, developing longitudinal relationships with patients over time, and an ID specialist. What I find most rewarding about my clinical work is caring for underserved and marginalized patients. Although it can be challenging at times because of long-standing structural inequalities, even the small successes that my patients achieve are incredibly meaningful and rewarding. ID is the best and most interesting field, well suited for people who are passionate about health equity and patient advocacy.
— Darcy Wooten, MD, MS
Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member
Associate professor of medicine
Program director, ID fellowship training program
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine