DR. JOSH TAKAGISHI ’98 Dr. Josh Takagishi says without hesitation, “Athletics has helped me to be a better physician and it’s continuing to make me a better physician.” Dr. Takagishi—a private practice pediatrician in Lansing, Mich., who also works part-time at Michigan State University Sports Medicine—said he came to Saint Mary’s because he wanted to combine athletics and academics. A lifelong hockey player, he was offered a chance to play Division III hockey at Saint Mary’s while earning his undergraduate biology degree. He also played a couple years of Cardinal baseball. Dr. Takagishi said he knew, even back then, he’d be going to medical school, potentially following in his father’s footsteps as a pediatrician. “I got to see his passion for the field,” he said. “And I really loved the science fields, both in high school and in college. In medical school, I got the chance to check out different specialties, and pediatrics was a perfect fit,” he said.
“You’ve got to work with a big team of nurses, other physicians, and other medical professionals, so teamwork is a huge part of both medicine and sports.” —Dr. Josh Takagishi ’98
After obtaining his medical degree at Loyola University of Chicago, Dr. Takagishi received a fellowship in sports medicine. He admits it’s “a little bit of an unusual thing” to practice both fields but he finds both very rewarding. “In sports medicine, I’ll treat a kid’s injury and follow it until it is healed, but I may never see them again in my life. It’s nice to be able to fix them and heal them, but the nice thing about pediatrics is the continuity. You start working with babies and see them through adulthood. I haven’t experienced this yet, but as you go along, you start seeing their kids. It’s really rewarding to be able to see them grow and get bigger and become adults. Certainly that is the biggest aspect of my job that is the most rewarding—to build such good relationships with these families.” Dr. Takagishi continues to play hockey and sees many similarities between athletics and medicine, beginning with the need for teamwork. “You’ve got to work with a big team of nurses, other physicians, and other medical professionals, so teamwork is a huge part of both medicine and sports,” he said. Additionally, Dr. Takagishi said having to prioritize his time between academics and athletics helped prepare him for the rigors of medical school and his residency program. He remembers doing a lot of homework on the bus as he was traveling to and from athletic events. And he brings up one more important attribute athletes and doctors must have: perseverance. “You’re going to have failure and you’re going to lose,” he said. “In medicine in particular, learning how to deal with that is important. Athletics has certainly helped me to deal with failure and adversity in my life. Medicine is about ongoing learning. You never stop learning. If you stop learning, you probably should retire. In sports as well, you’re always striving to be better and to get to that next level. In medicine, you’re always striving to be a better physician for your patients.”
Dr. Josh Takagishi ’98
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THE SCIENCES
Fall/Winter 2016