Where Are They Now?

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David Weisman

Written by Debra Roth Kane

David Weisman, originally from Randallstown, spent his last two years of high school in Pikesville and graduated with the PHS class of 1988. Though he was the “new kid,” it didn’t take him long to bond there. He was vice president of his senior class and voted both “friendliest” and “done most for class.” 

After spending a number of years in the Midwest (he graduated from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1996 and did his internship in Detroit and his residency in Chicago), he returned to Baltimore.

Currently an internist at Good Samaritan Hospital, Weisman is married to Teri Muns Weisman from Colorado, and has 5-year-old twins, Matthew and Connor, who attend Friends School. They live in Phoenix, Md.

iNSIDER: What made you choose medicine as a career?
David: For me, medicine was something that I grew into after working as a volunteer in an emergency room during college. My father was a pharmacist, so I had a link to medicine. But when I volunteered, I really got interested.

What, for you, is the most difficult aspect of practicing medicine?
As a primary care physician I treat a lot of chronically ill patients. Having someone succumb after I have known him or her for a long time is hard. I enjoy seeing these patients through their illnesses, and often get attached to them.

What is most gratifying?
I find it very gratifying to help run a program for 40 residents in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital. Some of them do a one-year residency with us; some do three years. Teaching them and devising curriculums for them offers a lot of career satisfaction. I like the clinical teaching role. My entire career path has combined teaching with private practice.

You did all your medical training in the Midwest. What brought you back here?
My father had a heart attack that caused significant impairment. We’ve been back here ever since — his illness changed all of our lives dramatically. My mother now operates our family business, the Charlesmead Pharmacy in Towson. It’s an old-fashioned pharmacy with a soda fountain.

What’s the best thing you can order from the soda fountain at your parents’ pharmacy?
The best thing you can order at the pharmacy is their World Class Milkshakes, voted one of the best in Baltimore.

How does your degree in osteopathic medicine differ from a traditional M.D.?
Osteopathic medicine is based on the holistic idea of treating the patient as a whole. Osteopathic training is identical to standard medical training, but with a more hands-on musculoskeletal piece. There aren’t many osteopaths in Maryland because there is no osteopathic school in Maryland, but the degree is recognized in all 50 states.