Department of
Medical Education

J. Wallis Marsh, MD, MBA

Name:  J. Wallis Marsh, M.D., M.B.A. 

Board Certification: Surgery

Medical School: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Residency: Surgery—St. Paul Medical Center (Dallas, TX); Fellowship in Renal Transplantation (Mayo Clinic); Fellowship in Liver Transplantation—University of Pittsburgh Medical Center 

Faculty Rank:  Professor 

Special Clinical/Research Interests: Hepatobiiary oncology

Is there a particular population of students (e.g., ethnicity, spiritual, sexual orientation) that you would particularly like to advise?

Minority and LBGTQ+ students

What does a typical day in the life of a surgical oncologist include?

Clinic/surgery, rounds.  You spend quite a bit of time trying to allay fears of the hopeless.

What is the biggest challenge of being a surgical oncologist? 

Being empathetic without letting it affect your judgment

How do you foresee surgical oncology changing over the next 20 years?

Hopefully the need for surgical oncologists will diminish as better non-surgical treatments are found.

What advice would you give a student who is considering a surgery residency? 

Spend as much time with surgeons as possible during medical school.  I don’t feel that it’s possible for medical school to really prepare the students for the rigors of surgical training.  It is difficult for all involved when students discover AFTER starting residency that their chosen field of residency is not for them.