Melissa “Millie” Schultz, MD, HRH emergency medicine and director of medical education, embraces spontaneity. Not only does that help her function at work, but it is also an important contribution to her marriage to her husband Greg, the world’s best cat dad. “He is much better at keeping our life organized,” she said. “My time to shine is when life doesn’t go according to plan because he knows he can lean on me. It’s a wonderful balance!”
While growing up in Fishers, Dr. Schultz suspected she might like healthcare because she loved math, science and talking (her words!). She enrolled at Wittenberg University, a small liberal arts school in Springfield, OH, where she met lifelong friends.
After graduating, she worked in Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, IN, before moving to Indianapolis. In 2012, Dr. Schultz started working at HRH as a phlebotomist (alongside her sister and best friend Emily). She was sitting in the HRH lab when she learned of her acceptance to IU School of Medicine. Medical school is where she realized that she loved the breadth of medicine and emergency medicine was a natural fit for her personality.
She spent three of the best years of her life in residency at the University of Louisville before returning to HRH. Dr. Schultz struggled with the decision to leave academia. Fortunately, when her friend and colleague Jason Kindrat, MD, started his new role as director of emergency medicine for HRH Brownsburg Emergency Department, Dr. Schultz was asked to succeed him as director of medical education. “I am forever grateful to Mark Tompkins [MD, HRH emergency medicine] for connecting me to this student education program,” she said.
The people she works with agree Dr. Schultz is right for the job. “She is the best,” said Christina Jackson, MD, director of emergency medicine for HRH Danville Emergency Department. “Dr. Schultz is a real team player and a champion of medical student education.”
Her students also appear to agree. Four of her medical students have invited Dr. Schultz to “hood” them at graduation. “It’s a huge honor. I get to be the first one to call them ‘Doctor,’” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”
Dr. Schultz is grateful to have found a job where each day is “predictably unpredictable,” and she gets to talk all day. “If I won the lottery, I would still be an emergency medicine physician.”
