School of Community Medicine Welcomes New Physician Leader

Specializing in gastrointestinal surgery, Timothy Nelson, M.D., has joined the OU-TU School of Community Medicine as professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. Nelson is recognized not only for his surgical skills, but also for his administrative and teaching abilities. Nelson comes to Tulsa from his most recent post at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. At UNM, Nelson was a professor and Chief of the Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery within the Department of Surgery, as well as director of the surgery residency program. Nelson fills the position previously held by Tony Howard, M.D., MBA, who retired Feb. 1, 2021.

Nelson said he was attracted by the community medicine model in Tulsa, with a focus that is deliberately intense and two-fold. “It’s not only our impact on a community, but also how community impacts us,” he said. “Community medicine speaks to commitment — being in the community more proactively.” Although the community medicine approach to care isn’t considered rare, the OU-TU program is uncommon in the way it functions within the whole. “

Many institutions have a long history that includes a community medicine track, but I don’t know another school so committed to the concept that they actually embed it in their names,” Nelson said. “The difference, I think, is the intensity of the work, actually going out into the community – structuring care for more meaningful engagement. There’s initiative to listen, work with and be part of community, not keeping our distance.” Community medicine also represents a fundamental shift in the education and training of new physicians, Nelson said.

Traditionally, medical practices establish clinical locations, with patient access based on times and places. “We’ve always made the patient come to us, as if we’re doing the patient a favor. Everything we can do to accommodate patients is what we should do, and the School of Community Medicine has taken that to the next level with more direct engagement in the community,” he said. “The question we must be asking is not simply ‘How do we serve patients?’ but also, ‘How can we interact positively to make the community of Tulsa, eastern Oklahoma, the United States and the world better places?’”

Nelson said that physicians, and perhaps especially surgeons, are characteristically results-oriented: patients show improvement in a matter of days, perhaps weeks or a few months. “But in this endeavor, we have to work like crazy to establish what we want, and be patient with the fact that results won’t come as quickly as we’re accustomed to,” he said. “We have a lot of faith and hope because we know it will come true. We just don’t know when. You just don’t quit. The people of eastern Oklahoma deserve the excellence we can offer. It keeps me excited about coming to work every day.”

Tiothy Nelson, M.D.