The son of a rural family physician, Dr. Nathan Liddle came to medical school fully prepared for the rigors of training. He hopes to preserve the legacy of his father, who died of cancer nine years ago, and return to the area where he grew up to eventually start his own family medicine practice.

Nathan Liddle, M.D.

What this award means: This award is meaningful to me personally because it’s a little bit of proof to me that I’m trying to be the best physician that I can be.

Mentor comment: Nathan is always the student who has done the reading and arrives prepared, while his keen sense of humor brings fun to each session while still remaining on task. Residents who worked with him were impressed with his emotional intelligence, empathy, and clinical skill. Nathan is guaranteed to be a valued and trusted physician. – Stephanie Brinker, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine 

Background and family: I grew up in Utah, where my mom and two younger brothers still live. My father passed away from cancer about nine years ago, and I like to think that I’m helping preserve his legacy by becoming a doctor myself.

What led to your career path: Growing up, my dad was a family physician, so that definitely influenced my career choice. After starting at UT Southwestern, this became even more apparent to me when I found out I liked each of my rotations and the breadth of knowledge they gave me. I didn’t want to “give up” anything I was learning – I wanted to somehow involve all of it in my future practice.

College: I attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where I graduated summa cum laude in microbiology.

UTSW activities: I’ve been involved with the Family Medicine Interest Group since I’ve been here. It’s a great group of people with similar commitments to full-spectrum, patient-centered care and faculty who really care about us and our goals. I’ve also volunteered here helping with COVID-19 vaccinations, given fitness/nutrition lessons at an elementary school, and served with the free clinics.

Surprising fact: My first time in Texas was for medical school interviews, but I fell in love with it soon after.

Ultimate career goal: My ultimate goal as a doctor is to be a friend to my patients. I want to be someone they can go to for not only their one-in-a-lifetime problems, but the everyday stuff as well.

Future plans: Right now, I plan to complete a residency in family medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth and probably return to the area where I grew up to practice. I envision having a full-scope practice involving pediatrics and obstetrics in addition to general adult medicine.

About the award: The TAFP (Texas Academy of Family Physicians) Outstanding Graduate Award is given by the Dallas Chapter to one student annually.