Adam Wachter, MD, is an associate professor of medicine in our division, a hospitalist at Duke Regional Hospital (DRH), and the Associate Medical Director of DRH Hospital Medicine. Learn more about him in our interview below.
What brought you to Duke?
I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and first came to Duke as an undergraduate in 1998. Like many others, I was drawn to Duke by the combination of top notch academics, basketball culture and the weather (being from Arizona I did NOT want to shiver through a long snowy winter). I had a great undergraduate experience at Duke and loved living in the Triangle. Although I attended medical school back in Arizona, when it came time to apply for residency it was an easy decision to put Duke as my top choice.
What are your interests in the field?
The thing I love the most about hospital medicine is that it provides me the opportunity to use my brain in different ways depending on what I happen to be doing on a particular day or week. In addition to my clinical work, I get to work with residents and students on the teaching service, collaborate with colleagues on medical education and quality improvement projects, participate in clinical research, and serve in administrative and leadership roles within the Hospital Medicine Program and DRH. During the COVID-19 pandemic I became involved in several telehealth projects and that has become a new area of interest for me.
"The thing I love the most about hospital medicine is that it provides me the opportunity to use my brain in different ways depending on what I happen to be doing on a particular day or week."
How did you get in to this specific field?
Coming out of residency, Hospital Medicine was a great fit for me for the reasons I mentioned above: the opportunity to work as a clinical educator while also pursuing other activities and interests within medicine. I was also drawn to the block on/block off schedule rather than working a more traditional Monday-Friday outpatient schedule.
Is there any research you are doing or plan on doing?
I would love to build on some of the telehealth projects that I worked on during the COVID-19 pandemic to help create a Hospital at Home program within Duke Health.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?
I have 4 kids who keep me busy, mainly as their personal Uber driver to and from school, sports, friends houses, and other activities. My wife and I are serial binge watchers of various streaming series (Example: we actually waited until the last season of Game of Thrones was released and then watched the entire series straight through from beginning to end). I still try to play pickup basketball at least once a week, and most weeks I can also be found at my weekly poker game. Each winter I try to take a ski trip out West. And this past year my wife and I have spent lots of time shopping for a house for my parents who are (finally) moving here from Arizona.
Any recent books you've read that you would like to share?
There There by Tommy Orange is what I'm reading currently. I'm also a Lauren Groff fan.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
My family and I were on the HGTV show "Love It or List It" in 2018. Check out our episode titled "Three Brothers and A Bedroom."
What is your favorite food?
I am a huge pho aficionado. In my opinion, Koumi on Roxboro St near DRH has the best in town.
What is your favorite restaurant?
So many good ones but hard to beat Herons at the Umstead Spa in Cary.