April 15, 2026
1 min read
I completed my internship and residency in the U.S. Army at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. At the time, there was no rheumatology division there and I was interested in pursuing gastroenterology.
I needed to serve 2 years practicing in the field before being eligible for an Army fellowship, or getting out and doing a fellowship at a university. While practicing internal medicine at McDonald Army Hospital in Fort Eustis, Virginia, I became less interested in GI and found my rheumatology patients interesting.
A good friend, Paul Killian, MD, was doing a rheumatology fellowship at Walter Reed, in Bethesda, Maryland, where he and I had previously done a world tropical medicine course. He was excited about the program. I visited and was awarded the one position open in 1977.
While at Walter Reed, we did a lot of work with the NIH, where I regularly interacted with Tony Fauci, MD, and John Decker, MD. Clive Lawless, MD, our chief, encouraged us to study rheumatic diseases in depth and focus on clinical outcomes.
Upon completion of my fellowship, I wanted to go back to Virginia and practice. The group I was interested in joining wanted me to wait 6 months to start. Being young and brash, I started a solo practice, Rheumatology Associates of Tidewater, and shared office space with an obstetrician and a urologist. It was exciting and exhausting at the same time, caring for patients and starting a business.
Through my various practices, the American College of Rheumatology, the Arthritis Foundation, the Clinical Congress of Rheumatology, and training programs, my journey has enabled me to develop very satisfying relationships with patients, partners, students and colleagues.
My continued efforts to build partnerships with rural community health care systems to sponsor fellowship training with LSU Health Science Center are important. Through this program, I feel that trainees will return to underserved communities and provide needed services.
I have a passion for rheumatology. I share this with everyone I can, from medical students and residents, to trainees and colleagues in other disciplines. Instilling this passion in my trainees ensures the future of rheumatology.
For more information:
Stephen M. Lindsey, MD, MACR, is a clinical professor of rheumatology and rheumatology fellowship program director at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center, in New Orleans. He can be reached at slinds@lsuhsc.edu.
Sources/Disclosures
Disclosures:
Lindsey reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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