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In This Issue:
James Baker, MD enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, deploying to Vietnam toward the end of the war to help close out U.S. ground involvement overseas. He was stationed at Nha Trang for seven months, after which he returned to Vietnam as a civilian to travel the country, learning the language and experiencing the area from a personal perspective. During his time in Vietnam, Baker visited the University of Saigon to gather information on various courses of study. “It was during my meeting at the University of Saigon that I first realized I was interested in medicine,” recalls Baker “Coming out of the service, I had a strong desire to pursue some meaningful purpose in life, and medicine gave me the opportunity to give something back, to move forward in my life while doing something for others.”
Baker went on to attend school in the U.S., taking advantage of the GI Bill to support his undergraduate degree as well as his first year of medical school, graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in epidemiology.
An attending physician in the Emergency Department (ED) today, Baker finds that he applies many of the life skills acquired during his time in the Army to his work at BWH. “The military gives you something that will last the rest of your life,” said Baker. “It gives you a determination and grit that translate into every part of life.”