For many students interested in healthcare, internships and shadowing experiences can often spark curiosity that turns into a calling. For Dr. Brett Starr, that moment came during a high school internship at the same hospital where he now practices as a cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon.

Today, Dr. Starr serves as chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory and as a consulting associate at Duke University Medical Center. His days rarely look the same.

“There is no real predictable day,” Dr. Starr said. “I may be doing heart surgery in the morning, lung operations in the afternoon, seeing patients in clinic, or rounding on critical care patients in the ICU. It’s always a little bit of everything.”

While many people think of cardiac surgery happening at large hospitals, Dr. Starr says community hospitals like Frye Regional play a critical role in delivering highly specialized care close to home.

Dr. Starr’s interest in medicine started with a childhood memory he never forgot.

“I had a great-grandfather who died of a heart attack when I was really young, and for some reason that always stuck with me,” he said.

Another impactful moment came from Dr. Richard Carlton, a longtime physician at Frye Regional who also coached Dr. Starr’s youth basketball team.

“Dr. Carlton would come into the gym in scrubs, and he’s got the pager and the big brick phone, and I was like, ‘God, that is the coolest guy in the world.’”

By high school, Dr. Starr was taking health science courses and looking for ways to explore the medical field. That curiosity led him to ask a simple question that would shape his future.

“I asked Dr. Carlton one day, ‘Hey, can I come watch an operation?’”

This experience changed everything.

“The first time you see the chest open, there is either sheer amazement behind that or there’s not,” he said. “For those of us wired this way, it’s magnetic. The sheer amazement of what you’re watching…you just can’t get enough.”

That early exposure confirmed that medicine, and eventually surgery, was the right path. Dr. Starr is candid about the level of dedication required to pursue a career in medicine.

“If there’s anything else that you would rather do and be happy doing besides going to medical school, do it,” he said. “Because you’ve got to be all in for this. It’s not an easy road.”

He credits his background as a competitive athlete with helping prepare him for the long journey through medical training. Dr. Starr went to play basketball at Wake Forest University before knee injuries altered that course. However, that journey has charted the parallels from practice on the court to practicing medicine.

“If I look back through my entire sports career, how much time I spent practicing versus how much time I spent playing, there was probably five to ten times more practice than there was play,” Dr. Starr said. “In our world, it’s the exact same. You’re learning surgical skills, you’re learning complex skills along the way.”

Today, Dr. Starr often works with students and interns of his own. His advice to those considering a healthcare career is simple: show up and stay curious.

“Be willing to show up even when you don’t have to,” he said. “Push yourself to participate even a little bit beyond what you think you’re capable of doing.”

Looking back, Dr. Starr believes his early internship gave him something invaluable: a firsthand look at the profession to which he would eventually dedicate his life.

“That time really opened my eyes to, ‘yeah, this is something I have to do.’”

For students exploring healthcare careers, internships and shadowing can provide the clarity they need to know if the field is right for them. To explore internships, volunteer opportunities and healthcare career exploration resources, visit IDoCareNC.org.

Brett Starr, MD is a cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon and chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at Frye Regional Medical Center, a Duke LifePoint hospital in Hickory, NC.