Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS

NOVA Online (see text links below)
Survivor M.D.
Tarter Meet the Doctors
Tom Tarter, M.D.

Specialty: Emergency Medicine

Home: Bloomington, Indiana

Favorite movie: I am a film nut. So here is the top ten list: 10) "A Touch of Evil" 9) "The Thin Man" 8) "Stuart Saves His Family" 7) "Sunset Boulevard" 6) "Once Were Warriors" 5) "Doctor Strangelove" 4) "A Night on Earth" 3) "Dogma" 2) "GlenGarry GlenRoss" 1) "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"

What was your primary motivation for becoming a doctor?

Three big reasons: 1) I like to fix things 2) Makes more than minimum wage 3) Keeps me out of trouble.

What was your greatest moment as a doctor so far?

In the emergency room, patients are always asking me, "When is the doctor arriving?" I love their faces when I tell them "He already has."

What has been the most unexpected aspect of being a doctor?

Women still hate me.

Do you have a hero?

Minnesota governor Jesse (The Body) Ventura.

Did medical school prepare you well for the profession?

No way. Residency did that.

What is the hardest part of your job?

Besides paying taxes, the long hours.

Knowing what you know now, would you choose again to become a doctor?

Hell, yes. I LOVE THIS JOB.

Previous: Cheryl Dorsey, M.D.


One Night in an E.R. | Meet the Doctors | The Hippocratic Oath Today
M.D. Specialties | The Producer's Story | Medicine Through Time
Resources | Transcripts | Site Map | Survivor M.D. Home

Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule
About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print
PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH

© | Updated March 2001

Corporate funding provided by

/wgbh/nova/doctors/textindex.html /wgbh/nova/doctors/