Provider
Richard Woodville Sams, II, MD
Family Medicine
Primary Care
About Richard Woodville Sams, II, MD
I was born in a small town called Pekin, IL, living in the country and on horse farms until I was 14. I moved with my family to Lake Geneva, WI and graduated from high school in 1984. I enlisted in the Navy in November, 1984, became a confessing Christian in 1985, and spent three years enlisted before going to Boston University on a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Scholarship in 1987. I married my lovely bride, Teri in 1989. While at BU, I sensed a calling into medicine. I graduated from BU in 1991 and went to Boston University School of Medicine on a Navy Health Professions Scholarship, graduating in 1995. I completed my family medicine residency at Waukesha Family Practice Residency Program in 1998. I completed a Masters in Bioethics at Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL in 2006. I spent 19 years as a Medical Corps Officer / Navy Family Physician. We were stationed at Naval Hospital Guam; Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California; Madigan Army Medical Center and Bremerton Naval Hospital, WA state; Naval Hospital Jacksonville Florida; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, GA; and Mayport Naval Station, Mayport FL. I served as a staff physician, teaching faculty physician, program director of a family medicine residency program, clinical medical ethics consultant EMS Medical Director, and the Senior Medical Officer for a squadron of ships. I deployed to Iraq in 2003 at the beginning of the war and to Afghanistan in 2011. My wife and I have 5 wonderful children. We are active in our local church, and we participate in international humanitarian missions. We have traveled to Haiti, Kenya, Mexico and rural America. I have a deep interest in healthcare for the poor, the intersection of faith and health, history, philosophy and theology. I love the Lord, the outdoors, stand up paddle boarding, bicycling, reading, writing and making home made pasta.
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Clinical Interests
As a family physician I am interested in all clinical aspects of medicine for patients young and old. I am particularly in interested in maternal child health, geriatric health, bioethics, global health and whole person health care - body, mind, spirit.
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Research Interests
I am interested research that intersects with the spiritual and moral dimensions of medicine and in how biotechnology affects our lives.
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Philosophy of Care
The patient doesn't care about how much you know, until they know how much you care. It is more important to know the person that has the disease, than the disease that has the person. Cure sometimes, relieve often, care always.
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Specialties
Family Medicine
Primary Care
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Language(s)
English
