Coming full circle: TCOM graduate returns to shape the next generation of physicians
Every Monday evening, Dr. Larry Wilner boards a flight from Colorado to Fort Worth.
By Tuesday morning, he's seeing patients at UNT Health Clinical Practice Group and serving as the family medicine clerkship director for hundreds of UNT Health’s Texas College Osteopathic Medicine medical students on rotation.
The weekly commute isn't easy. Although it’s rare, delays can turn a routine trip into a 2 a.m. arrival before a full day in clinic. Yet after building and selling a successful private practice after three decades in medicine, Wilner says the journey is worth it.
"That is the compromise that you have to make to be where I want to be," he said. "And UNT Health is where I want to be."
A career built in family medicine
After graduating from TCOM in 1991, Wilner established a successful full-spectrum family medicine practice while raising his two sons. Now with both kids in college, he and his wife take turns hopping a flight each weekend to spend time together.
"For 30 years, I was a primary care doctor in the community," he said. “I was super fortunate; the practice was doing very well, and I was approached one day with the opportunity to sell it, and quite frankly, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.”
After a year spent transitioning his practice to new ownership and decades spent caring for patients and building a thriving practice, Wilner had one tough question to answer: What comes next?
Home away from home
“I started thinking, what would be my passion? What would I do that I'd never maybe done before? I always envisioned myself coming back to TCOM, and so that was the bridge that brought me back,” he said.
The only problem with his plan was that there were no family medicine positions open with UNT Health. Wilner started searching for other academic medical practices who might be hiring, but couldn’t find anything that felt like the right fit.
He reached out to old friend and current TCOM Dean Dr. Lisa Nash, who gave him a heads up when a position became available.
"It was just like serendipity that about four to six weeks later, this position opened up and I was fortunate enough to get the call,” Wilner said.
Teaching beyond a textbook
While Wilner had ample experience in patient care, he had never taught medical students before returning to TCOM. Drawing from his own experiences as a TCOM student, he remembers the faculty members who took the time to know him as a person, not just a learner.
"I think my experience as a TCOM student influenced the way I teach profoundly because I still have really vivid memories of being a student,” he said. “Some of my professors or preceptors are still here, and you remember the people who see you and really take an interest in you."
That philosophy continues to guide his approach to teaching. In the same way he strives to make his students feel truly seen, he encourages students to view patients through a whole-person lens as well.
"I want to teach students not to see a patient as their disease, but to see it a person who has a family, who has commitments, who has passions and they also have that disease and how it affects them," he said.
As clerkship director, Wilner works closely with students rotating through UNT Health Clinical Practice Group, as well as other community practices and partner institutions.
"I love working with medical students, mostly because of their passion," he said. "They're really involved and they have made a really profound career choice. It's meaningful to help them along the way to make that a reality."
For Wilner, investing in students today creates a ripple effect that will benefit countless patients for years to come.
"I'd like to see students come from TCOM who are good, successful, compassionate doctors," he said. "Being a small piece of the journey of creating impactful physicians is something I take pride in."
Changing lives every day
Although Wilner's time is now split between patient care and mentoring future physicians, the patients remain at the heart of his work. After 30 years in family medicine, he has never lost sight of the profound impact healthcare providers can have on the lives of those they serve.
"We still change people's lives every day," he said.
Sometimes those changes are dramatic, such as a timely diagnosis, a life-saving intervention or a treatment plan that alters the course of a patient's future. More often, however, the victories are quieter.
"Maybe somebody was suffering from a condition where they're having trouble going outside, and you figure out a way for them to walk to their mailbox," he said. "Maybe that seems like not such a dramatic change, but that may be a dramatic change for them."
The commitment to improving the lives of others is one of the reasons he chose to return to the institution that helped launch his own medical career. As both a physician and educator, he has the opportunity to make an impact that extends far beyond the exam room, through the students he mentors and the patients they will one day serve.
For Wilner the journey from student to physician to teacher has come full circle. And while the miles between Colorado and Fort Worth may be considerable, the opportunity to care for patients, mentor students and contribute to the future of medicine continues to make the trip worthwhile.
"I still take pride in TCOM," he said. "It's a mission worth supporting."
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Wilner, call 817-735-2228.