Just a few months in to his second year of residency, Dr. Matthew Meriweather, experienced an “aha” moment when he realized just how much he had already learned in such a short time. These small accomplishments along the way, plus the friendships he has built with his classmates, have stood out to him as the highlights of his time in residency. Dr. Meriweather and his wife, who is an OB-GYN resident at St. Thomas Midtown, love that Nashville is a city that feeds their love of sports, music, food, and nature during their time off.
Tell us about your background.
I’m from a small town called Washington Court House, Ohio [between Cincinnati and Columbus]. I really enjoyed growing up there. Since it’s a small place, I could be involved in a little bit of everything. I played sports, participated in musicals, and other activities. I did my undergrad at the University of Cincinnati and met my now-wife there. We both went to Marshall University for medical school, and we got married at the end of our second year of residency. That was a fun path to share with her. She’s now an OB-GYN resident at St. Thomas.
How did your path lead to medicine and ultimately neurology?
I sort of stumbled into medicine. I started out as an engineering major. In high school there was an emphasis on math and science, plus my dad was in engineering, and I just never thought that much about it. In undergrad, though, I had several friends who were pre-med and exposed that to me. I liked it because I could keep an interest in science but I could also help people very tangibly. I volunteered at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to get a little taste of what was going on. I don’t really have a specific “aha” moment as to why I went into medicine, but I am glad I met those people.
I went into medical school undecided about specializing. I had a neuroanatomy professor at Marshall (who coincidentally had also taught at Vanderbilt earlier in her career) who made the material interesting. That was my most interesting pre-clinical class. And once I started clinical rotations, a couple of doctors at Marshall took me under their wings and showed me how I could be happy in that field. I like that in Neurology, the physical exam was still very relevant. We have diagnostic tools like MRI and CT scans, we often use that as more of a confirmation of what we observe in the physical exam.
What are your professional career goals?
I’m staying here at Vanderbilt next year to do a stroke fellowship. Beyond that, my plan is to do inpatient neurology as a neurohospitalist. I don’t know yet where or how that will be. My wife is also looking for jobs, but for now our plan is to stay nearby.
What have been some of the most memorable moments of your residency?
The people and relationships that we’ve built in our class. We’ve really been able to lean on each other when things are busy or when we’re on a hard rotation. We have good relationships with each other, both in the hospital and outside of work, so we’ve built these really great friendships that will hopefully last beyond this year.
As for working in the hospital, the environment we are in and the support we receive from both the senior residents and attendings has also been meaningful. I remember one call my second year, which was really only a few months after becoming a neurologist. I paused and realized I had learned so much in only four months here at Vanderbilt. It was remarkable to me then—and now—how quickly I felt comfortable doing what I needed to do. Having attendings who are so approachable and senior residents there teaching in real time really helped me feel confident very early on.
How would you have spent the last four years if not in neurology residency?
If I could do anything else, I would want to be involved in sports or music production living here in Nashville. Growing up in rural Ohio, just 40 minutes south of Columbus, being an OSU fan and a Browns fan is just part of who I was growing up. I think sports is something everyone can enjoy and find commonality with other people.
I’ve always liked music. I played in the band in high school, and I was in musicals and choir, so music has always been a secondary interest. Now it has turned into trying to find new songs to listen to. I don’t have a specific genre, but music can take you back to a certain moment in your life, or be a source of stress relief or escape during downtime.
Living in Nashville has augmented that [love of music]. We used to often go listen to live music [before the COVID pandemic]. I do enjoy country music, but I also love going to The Listening Room or The Bluebird and seeing songwriters perform their own songs.
What are your non-professional plans for the future?
A dream trip on the bucket list is to go to Europe. It’s something we talked about doing for a honeymoon. But someday we’d like to spend a couple of weeks and go to Italy, Paris, London and see those historical cities.
What are you reading/listening to/watching?
My current playlist is mostly top 40 songs. My wife and I both are Taylor Swift fans. I also like DJ Tygo, who has this tropical feel-good music. Aside from music, I listen to some sports podcasts. I recently listened to the “Very Presidential” podcast, where the host kind of goes into these scandalous affairs that you didn’t know about of past presidents. I watch a lot of Netflix, mostly feel-good shows or something to have on in the background. I’ve seen Friends probably 12 times because it’s just always on in the background. Feel good/background shows. I’ve seen friends probably 12 times because it's always on in the background. I’ve been watching Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Jason Sudeikis plays a guy who goes over to London to coach a soccer team, even though he knows nothing about soccer. It’s mostly a comedy but also kind of a feel-good show.
Last but not least, what is your favorite part of the neurologic exam?
Probably testing reflexes, mainly because patients always have something to say about it. Whether it’s a little kid who laughs, or an 85-year-old with a quip. It’s also a big clue as to finding where the problem is, whether central or peripheral.
Anything else you’d like to add?
One thing I always tell people who are interviewing is that when you’re choosing a residency, you of course want a good fit with the program, but you also want to choose a location you’re going to enjoy. Yes, we’re all busy with work during residency, but you do have time off and you’ll want to be in a place you’ll enjoy spending it. Nashville is just as much as I could have hoped for. Of course it’s relatively close to where I grew up which is nice, but I also love what it has to offer with sports, music, food, etc. It’s a city with just about anything you’d want to do, plus it’s just a short drive to get to nature to go for a hike, be on a lake, or in the mountains.
