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John Gay, MD

73BA, 78MD

What is your hometown?

Iowa City

What is your official title?

Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, Associate Professor of Clinical Ob/Gyn at the University of Missouri.

How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?

I have always been interested in science and was a Zoology major as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa.

What interested you to pursue a career in medicine and medical education?

During college, I considered graduate school in biology versus medical school and chose medicine.

Please highlight your major career achievements, awards, discoveries, etc.

I value the teaching awards I have received over the years and I am the former Clerkship Director and Residency Program Director in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Is there a teacher, mentor or University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine faculty member who has helped shape your education?

Dr. Frank Zlatnik in Ob/Gyn and Dr. Ray Sheets (77MD) in Internal Medicine.

How or why did you choose the University of Iowa for your education and medical training?

Growing up in Iowa City, I did not seriously consider anywhere else.

What kind of professional opportunities or advantages has your University of Iowa medical training provided?

The University of Iowa provided a great education. It is highly respected around the country.

Please describe your professional interests.

Medical education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. My clinical interest is in prenatal care and family planning.

What are some of your outside interests?

I enjoy gardening and bicycling.

Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work?

Always do what is right for the patient.

If you could change one thing about the practice or business of medicine, what would it be?

Our health care system is very inefficient and not very user-friendly for anyone.

What is the biggest change you've experienced in medicine since you were a student?

The electronic age and how information is disseminated and how this has changed how we learn.

What one piece of advice would you give to today's medical students?

Don’t worry so much about salary and lifestyle issues, do what you love doing.

What do you see as "the future" of the medicine?

I see continued rapid changes as the world around us changes. The venue in which patients and physicians interact may change, but as long as the bond and the trust remain, the practice of medicine will continue to be professionally and personally rewarding.

Date: 
Monday, May 15, 2017