On Thursday, February 9, members of the Excalibur National Honor Society and Mr. Rhodes’ Anatomy and Physiology class welcomed on campus Dr. James Parker, a 1991 graduate of Brother Martin. A cardiovascular disease specialist (a cardiologist), Dr. Parker has over 13 years of experience in the medical profession. He attended LSU School of Medicine and has a Master’s Degree in Neurophysiology. Currently, he practices at North Oaks Medical Center where he received in 2016 the North Oaks Health System’s Physician of the year award.
Dr. Parker started the meeting by informing students that heart disease is the number one killer in the country and the number two killer in the world. Then throughout the meeting, he shared his background and daily routine experiences in medicine with the students who also had the opportunity to ask him questions about the medical profession. Students in Mr. Rhodes’ class also learned the use of pacemakers and defibrillators to correct arrhythmia, angioplasty and the use of stents to open blocked arteries, and bypass surgeries for those with severely blocked vessels. He also urged students to find time to study hard and strive for higher educational standards because being a doctor is not about having a job, but about fulfilling a vocation.
Thank you, Dr. Parker, for speaking to the members of Excalibur during American Heart Month.
