James Addington, MD 
Resident in Neurology, ‘15

Indiana University School of Medicine: MD, 2011
Miami University: BA, 2007

Tell us a little about yourself – where you’re from, your educational background, etc.
I’m originally from Findlay, Ohio. I went to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and then went on to medical school at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Following medical school, I looked across the East Coast and Midwest for residency and ultimately ended up here at the University of Virginia. I have been married for almost four years now. I met my wife in 6th grade back in Ohio, and we now have a six-month-old baby, Hudson.

What field are you specializing in and why did you choose it?
I’m currently in my last year of neurology residency. I chose neurology as it is a field that is constantly changing and provides a good patient mix. We manage chronic conditions and acute issues, making each day different from the last. There’s a good variety and you can see patients from children all the way up to adults in their end years. It’s a specialty that I thought I would find a lot of interest in as I progressed throughout my career.

What has your experience been like as a resident at UVA?
Being a resident at UVA has been awesome. I think we’ve got a great faculty, ancillary staff and good mixture of patients. Everyone has been very supportive. Having interests in things outside of clinical medicine, such as the business of medicine, I’ve had the opportunity to be exposed to some of those things and work on projects, which I think is unique to a training program and something that UVA supports all residents in.

Can you describe one of your most memorable experiences as a resident?
During my second year of residency, I was involved with an acute stroke code, something that is unique to our program in neurology in that we treat strokes codes early on in our training and relatively independently. I remember an elderly woman who came in with an acute stroke syndrome. We were able to recognize it and treat within a quick time period, allowing us to almost immediately see the change in outcome. I felt like I really had an impact in her quality of life from that point forward. It was a really interesting and neat experience for me to realize that you do have an impact right from the day you start and that our patients put a lot of trust in you the moment that you come to UVA.

Tell us about your life in Charlottesville. What do you like to do in your spare time?
My wife and I, and now our son, enjoy Charlottesville a great deal. We enjoy the food, beer and wine scene, being outside, going to concerts, and just being part of such a fun city that is consistently voted one of the best places to live. There’s also exposure to athletics with the university, the beer and wine scene is great, and those are all things we take advantage of while we’re here and we’ll certainly miss when we’re gone.

Have you participated in any of the MAA’s events for alumni and residents? And how important is it to you to have these kinds of activities with your co-residents?
Each year we’ve gone to the Housestaff Spring Fling at Blue Mountain Brewery. It’s a great event that pulls residents from all sub-specialties together for something outside of the hospital not dealing with patient care directly. It allows us to interact on a different level than we’re used to at the hospital. I think That’s important because it allows us to know more about each other on a personal level and certainly helps us to develop connections and relationships that we’ll be able to carry forward.

You were recently inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society. Can you tell us about that?
Being inducted into AOA was certainly a great honor. I have really loved interacting with and teaching students. I like to see their responses and watch them grow as they work with us. To get that honor in return was something I’m very thankful for during my experience here at UVA.

Any closing thoughts?
One thing that has been interesting to see in my nearly four years at UVA has been the amount of change and expansion that has occurred. A lot of alumni might not realize what’s here anymore, what the changes have been and how their contributions now might be something more personally meaningful to them because of changes that happened after they left. I would encourage them to explore what’s changed at UVA and learn more about the mission and where it’s going.