Dr. Karl Nadolsky - In My Speciality, We Spend Time Talking, Counselling and Using Labs (Endocrinology Physician)

 Hulk Hogan’s autobiography is one of the few books to really hold my attention and likely due to a mix of loving Hulk Hogan as a child but also his journey was remarkable and interesting with great personal insight from him.

Tell us about your background and journey.

I grew up with a personal interest in athletic performance and science from childhood through young adulthood. My parents were teachers and my dad was the high school wrestling coach along with helping football and track along the way. 

I loved resistance training and even had a Hulk Hogan workout set when I was seven years old, moulding a significant part of my journey into health and wellness. 

I enjoyed science in high school and went to Michigan State University where I was a 4-year starter on the varsity wrestling team and majored in kinesiology for my “pre-med” curriculum. With the background interest in athletic physiology, I nurtured that into a desire to help people with obesity and related cardiometabolic disease ultimately resulting in an interest in endocrinology. 

I started my career in the US Navy, training in internal medicine residency at Naval Medical Centre, Portsmouth, Va; I spent a year as the internist on a ship before working as faculty for a year in the internal medicine residency program. I then moved up to an endocrinology fellowship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland for two years and then completed my commitment with two more years as endocrine faculty for the fellowship program.

I met my wife, a Naval RN, as an intern at Portsmouth Naval Medical Centre and we decided to get out after my commitment to move back to my home area of West Michigan a few years ago.

How important is the super specialization for doctors?

It is not specifically important, per se, but necessary for some to do as medical science and nuance are so rapidly progressive. 

It is difficult for primary care doctors to manage everything necessary, especially with the unfortunate constraints of our healthcare system.

What is your take on virtual methods of providing treatment?

A. Virtual medicine should have been standard for some time now, but insurance and our healthcare system delayed the inevitable. It is the silver lining of covid-19 as it forced the system to support our ability to take care of more people without forcing them to physically visit the office just for money. 

In my speciality, we spend so much time talking, counselling and using labs that we can get a significant amount of our job done very well with virtual medicine.

What do you feel are the good and bad points about being a doctor?

A. The best parts are likely cliché, as getting feedback from patients who get better from what ails them is certainly the most gratifying feeling we get. Other good points are the academic challenges and patient rapport along with collegiality.

B. Bad points of being a doctor are also likely well-known and include high stress plus workload, the administrative burden beyond actual patient care and ultimately the risk of burnout from such.

Which is your favourite book and why?

Hulk Hogan’s autobiography is one of the few books to really hold my attention and likely due to a mix of loving Hulk Hogan as a child but also his journey was remarkable and interesting with great personal insight from him.

What impact do you want to create in the medical field?

In general, I just want to be as much of a help to patients as possible on individual levels but in a bigger context, I hope to help my regional healthcare system improve our abilities to help more patients and on an even larger scale I hope to improve the global evaluation and management of obesity and adiposity-based diseases.

Dr Karl Nadolsky, DO, is a clinical endocrinologist for Spectrum Health West Michigan in Grand Rapids, MI, and an assistant clinical professor of medicine for Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Holds board certification in Internal Medicine, Diabetes Endocrinology & Metabolism, and Obesity Medicine. Currently serving to transition from the chair of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists’ Obesity Disease State Network (DSN) to vice-chair of the DSN Oversight committee.

Dr. Nadolsky graduated from Michigan State University in 2003 with a degree in kinesiology, earning academic all-American, four-time academic All-Big Ten scholar-athlete, and four-time NCAA qualifier honours for the varsity wrestling team. He stayed at MSU for 1 year serving as the strength and nutrition coach for the wrestling team. 

He graduated from Nova+ College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008 and completed a residency in internal medicine in Portsmouth, Va, graduating in 2011 and earning certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Following residency, Dr. Nadolsky practised for two years as a general internist and implemented a comprehensive obesity program at Naval Medical Centre, Portsmouth. Earned certification from the American Board of Obesity Medicine in 2012

Fellowship training in endocrinology was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre (WRNMMC), Bethesda, MD earning board certification in 2015. Following fellowship, he developed and directed the Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolic Institute, was faculty for the endocrinology fellowship program, and assistant professor of medicine for Uniformed Services University

Memberships: American Diabetes Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), The Obesity Society, National Lipid Association, and The Endocrine Society.  Co-author of the AACE 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Comprehensive Medical Care of Patients with Obesity. On the editorial advisory boards for Endocrine News and MedPageToday.

Interviewed by - Ritika Malhotra