by Allison Howard
This piece was originally published in the January/February issue of the Tarrant County Physician. You can read find the full magazine here.
Dr. Angela Self always had an independent spirit. At age 17, fresh out of high school, she left her home in Las Vegas to make a life for herself in New York. As she was growing up, Dr. Self did not dream of becoming a doctor, but she never shied away from an adventure. Looking back, she thinks the decision to pursue Medicine shouldn’t have been such a surprise. When she was 14, Dr. Self volunteered as a candy striper at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital (now University Hospital), and shortly after she moved to New York, she began working as a dental assistant. “Maybe it was a foreshadowing, but I had never even considered that I would go into Medicine,” says Dr. Self.
The idea to shift directions came suddenly. One day, after assisting with a procedure, Dr. Self began questioning her path. She was filled with a desire to care for patients directly in a capacity where she could serve as their advocate. Medical school came to her as the obvious answer, but she knew it would be a long, winding path. She did not yet have an undergraduate degree so she approached the decision thoughtfully. “Through a process of prayer, and seeking, and volunteering at my ambulance corps, I really felt a strong leading that I was to go to medical school. Once I knew I was going, there was no question in my mind from that moment.” When she felt confident that this was her future, she quickly began making changes to prepare for the long years of study that lay ahead.
Dr. Self realized that she would need a flexible job to support her education, one that would give her freedom to go to classes during the day. She was also hesitant to step away from the clinical interactions she had with patients as a dental assistant. “I thought, it’s going to be eight years before I can do anything,” remembers Dr. Self. “Here I had been working as an oral surgical assistant, a dental assistant. I had been in ORs with an oral surgeon and had been able to do hands-on things.” Because of this, as she began attending classes at a local community college and continued to work full time, Dr. Self also received training as an EMT and a paramedic.
She joined South Orangetown Ambulance Corps in 1987. It was an exciting but hectic time. Dr. Self had three different jobs at that point and picked up extra shifts on the ambulance whenever possible. She worked nights, clocking an average of 60 hours a week while still taking a full load of classes. Despite her long work hours, she was hesitant to slow down. She transferred to Pace University in 1990 and graduated with a BS in Biology in 1992.
At that point, Dr. Self ran into some barriers. She applied to medical school in New York but ended up being waitlisted. Because of her extreme work hours, she had not been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA. Dr. Self was concerned that this would stop her from going to medical school; it was the first time she began to doubt that she had made the right decision. She considered several alternatives, such as pursuing social work, becoming a pharmacist, or even getting an advanced nursing degree.
“Dr. Angela Self is an amazing colleague who I have the pleasure to work closely with on many projects. She is compassionate, honest, hardworking, and has everyone’s best interest at heart. I have the utmost confidence that she will represent Tarrant County Medical Society with dignity, compassion, and will be an overall amazing leader.”
– Neerja Bhardwaj, MD
Then, a new opportunity arose. “A friend that went to St. George’s in Grenada suggested that I apply there,” says Dr. Self. She knew it would be a big change—Dr. Self hadn’t planned to leave New York for medical school, much less the U.S. Still, she was intrigued. “I had a couple of friends that I really admired that were going to St. George’s,” she shares. They were very positive about the school, so she decided to apply. She was accepted into the program and began classes in 1994.
Looking back, Dr. Self realizes that she could have applied to other U.S. medical schools, but she has no regrets. Living in Grenada gave her the opportunity to learn hands-on about diseases that are rarely seen in the States, due to Grenada being a developing country. She also gained some wonderful mentors at the school, including Dean of Students Dr. C.V. Rao. “He taught us, he mentored us, he watched out for us, and remains a friend, I think, to everyone who ever went there.”
While in medical school, she was on call for student emergencies. She also continued picking up shifts as a paramedic whenever she was on breaks. It was difficult to work so much while completing her education, but the benefit of financial security coupled with the valuable patient care experience made it worthwhile.
Dr. Self moved back to the U.S. in 1996 to complete her clinical rotations, working between New York and Baltimore. She graduated from medical school in 1998 and began an internship in anesthesiology at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Though anesthesia was appealing, she had a passion to care for geriatric and terminal patients, so she believed her future was in oncology.
At this time, Dr. Self had a big life change—she gave birth to her daughter, Whitney. She took ten months off to care for her young child, until they moved to Texas. At that point, Dr. Self completed her internal medicine residency at St. Paul Hospital in Dallas. It was a difficult time to be going through the intensity of residency. “It was really hard to go every day because I felt I was robbing my daughter of having a mom,” says Dr. Self. She is grateful to her mother for taking care of Whitney, filling the gap when Dr. Self couldn’t be there.
As she completed her residency, Dr. Self fell in love with primary care. She was also ready to focus on her future. “I needed to commit to motherhood and Medicine, and I felt I could do that by doing internal medicine,” says Dr. Self. When she finished the program, she joined a private practice. Dr. Self worked as an internal medicine physician for 15 years. She was employed at three different clinics throughout that time; at one point, she worked for David Pillow, MD, a well-known pillar of the Tarrant County medical community. “Dr. Pillow taught me that patients will tell you what’s wrong if you just listen,” says Dr. Self. He helped her to avoid developing tunnel vision when treating her patients. “His physical exams were amazing. He taught me so many things that you never learn in medical school.”
Dr. Pillow’s guidance along with an extensive background in emergency care made Dr. Self a strong diagnostician. She was quickly able to discover the root of a problem, especially when critical treatment was required. Twice, she was able to get patients immediate care when they came to appointments mid-heart attack, even though their symptoms were irregular. Because she wanted to serve older patients, whenever she joined a new clinic, the Medicare patients were sent her way. “I got the ones with heart failure, liver disease, lung disease, and cancer, and then I got involved with hospice. That fulfilled that longing in me to work with end-stage patients. I did get to do what I wanted after all.”
Still, there was a downside to private practice; it was difficult to manage financially. “Medicare didn’t pay that much, and geriatric patients take a lot more resources, need a lot more time, so you see fewer in a day and reimbursement is lower, but it was what I was passionate about so I did it as long as I could.”
Eventually, Dr. Self made the move to working in administrative medicine. She has been on the other side of care for about five years now; currently, she is working for an accountable care organization. Though she misses taking care of patients, there are many advantages to her current role. “I can advocate for more people in an administrative role than in a primary care practice, where I might have one to two thousand charts, so I can affect one to two thousand lives in practice,” shares Dr. Self. “Now I can affect many more lives.” One of her focuses is improving the patient experience in post-acute settings.
While the change may seem dramatic, Dr. Self has been involved in organized medicine her whole career and has seen the impact of physicians advocating for their profession. She has been a longtime member of TCMS. In the early 2000s, she helped to review cases for the Public Grievance Committee. Dr. Self became more involved during the 2014 Ebola crisis. She was impressed by the way TCMS, TMA, and the AMA worked together to protect patients and physicians, and she knew that was something she wanted to be a part of. “Ever since then, I’ve made attending TCMS’s monthly board meetings part of my job negotiations!”
Dr. Self Is an active member of the TCMS Board of Advisors and the Women in Medicine Committee; she also attends TMA and TCMS meetings whenever possible. “(TCMS board member) Gary Floyd says, ‘Good doctors take care of their patients. Great doctors take care of their patients and their profession,’” says Dr. Self. “Being part of organized medicine is helping to take care of your profession. When doctors go down to Austin and speak with lawmakers in their white coats, it changes the way that we are viewed.”
Her fellow physicians look forward to seeing her in this new role as president. “Dr. Angela Self is an amazing colleague who I have the pleasure to work closely with on many projects. She is compassionate, honest, hardworking, and has everyone’s best interest at heart,” says Neerja Bhardwaj, MD, a palliative care physician practicing in Dallas. “I have the utmost confidence that she will represent Tarrant County Medical Society with dignity, compassion, and will be an overall amazing leader.”
In the next year, Dr. Self hopes to grow physician membership and participation in the Medical Society. She believes in the power of banding together to give doctors a voice for their profession and their patients. She also wants to serve as a resource, particularly for independent physicians who are struggling with the fallout from COVID-19. She thinks providing opportunities to connect with other physicians is an important part of this support. “Talking with other doctors who have experienced the same things helps,” shares Dr. Self. “I’ve been there.” All of this ultimately comes together for one purpose: to serve patients excellently and effectively.
When advising those who are considering going into Medicine, Dr. Self encourages getting as much exposure as possible before taking the leap. “Make sure you have fully answered the ‘why’ for medical school,” says Dr. Self. “Make sure it is something you are passionate about.” Shadow a physician, work as a scribe—whatever it takes to make sure you have found your calling in life. It isn’t an easy path, but it can be incredibly rewarding. “There is nothing else I would rather do.”
When Dr. Self is not working or attending meetings, you might find her volunteering at the Cornerstone Assistance Network. Even though she doesn’t currently practice in a clinic, Dr. Self still enjoys getting to treat patients, especially those who are struggling to access care. In her free time, Dr. Self loves traveling and going to live concerts. Last year she was able to attend the Eric Clapton Guitar Festival. “It was amazing and made me realize that I love the Blues. I didn’t know I loved the genre before that!” A highlight of her trips is always searching for the best lattes in hole-in-the-wall cafés. Dr. Self loves coffee—she even runs a blog to talk about her caffeinated discoveries (you can read some of her stories at coffeebyangela.com).
She enjoys going on these trips (when there isn’t a pandemic!) with friends and family. Dr. Self has the most fun when her daughter can come along, but Whitney is pretty busy these days. She is currently working on completing her undergraduate degree with the goal of applying to medical school in the near future.
We are excited to support Dr. Self as she prepares to lead us as we serve the citizens of Tarrant County and the community of Medicine.
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