Dr. Shivum Agarwal, MD — Family Practice
About me:
As a lifelong Texan, I am a true rural Texas physician with specialized training for rural and global settings. I attended college at Duke University and studied Economics, Markets & Management, and Biology. After college, I worked in Global Strategy, Operations, and Innovations Consulting in exciting places such as New York City and abroad. Despite the excitement of international business, I sought a profession that would allow me to more personally serve others. Working in under-served rural and international settings, I found a passion for such populations and I dedicated my training to becoming a comprehensively trained physician to help those who needed it most in parts of the world furthest separated from resources. I was lucky enough to train at one of the top medical schools (UT Southwestern) and Family Medicine programs in the country (John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, TX). At JPS, I completed my Family Medicine residency and advanced training in Advanced Rural-Global Medicine & Surgery (ARMS), an intensive training program focusing on higher-level surgical skills, obstetrics, endoscopy, intensive care, emergency, and pediatrics care.
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most?
My favorite part of the job is the feeling you get when patients get better. There’s no better feeling than that. As physicians and nurses, we think about our patients well past the hours in the clinic and hospital — doing everything we can to bring our patients back to their families in better health.
What part of Family Practice is your favorite?
I enjoy taking care of a breadth of ages and ailments — from new moms to newborns to new senior citizens. I appreciate the rural Family Physician’s ability to take care of a range of ailments including pediatrics, medical, obstetrics, and surgical issues safely and competently — it’s important for the health of our community to be able to access these services locally. My physician, nursing, and administrative partners at Faith Community Hospital have really set a standard of excellence for rural, broad-spectrum, primary-care led health care. There are numerous studies showing access to high-quality local primary healthcare including surgical and obstetrics care is essential and incredibly important. As a rural citizen, I know how taxing (and at times, unsafe) traveling long distances for healthcare can be for our us. The physician-nurse-administrator team at FCH has really enabled our community to receive excellent, broad-spectrum healthcare locally.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time with my wife, children, and our energetic husky. When I’m not taking care of patients, I also enjoy hiking, culinary arts, playing various instruments. I also really believe in giving back to the medical education that has enabled us to care for patients, and I enjoy teaching medical students and serving on international aid projects around the world.
Words to the community:
I thank you for the privilege of caring for you and your family and entrusting us with your health. There is no greater honor and responsibility.
