TARRANT COUNTY PHYSICIAN (17)
January/February 2021
2021 TCMS President
Angela Self, MD
D she began attending classes at a local
school came to her as the obvious
answer, but she knew it would be a long,
winding path. She did not yet have an
undergraduate degree so she approached
the decision thoughtfully. “Through a
process of prayer, and seeking, and
volunteering at my ambulance corps,
I really felt a strong leading that I was
to go to medical school. Once I knew I
was going, there was no question in my
mind from that moment.” When she felt
confident that this was her future, she
quickly began making changes to prepare
for the long years of study that lay ahead.
Dr. Self realized that she would need
a flexible job to support her education,
one that would give her freedom to go
to classes during the day. She was also
hesitant to step away from the clinical
interactions she had with patients as a
dental assistant. “I thought, it’s going to
be eight years before I can do anything,”
remembers Dr. Self. “Here I had been
working as an oral surgical assistant, a
dental assistant. I had been in ORs with
an oral surgeon and had been able to
do hands-on things.” Because of this, as
r. Angela Self
always had an
independent spirit.
At age 17, fresh
out of high school,
she left her home in
Las Vegas to make
a life for herself in
New York. As she was growing up, Dr. Self
did not dream of becoming a doctor, but
she never shied away from an adventure.
Looking back, she thinks the decision
to pursue Medicine shouldn’t have been
such a surprise. When she was 14, Dr. Self
volunteered as a candy striper at Southern
Nevada Memorial Hospital (now University
Hospital), and shortly after she moved to
New York, she began working as a dental
assistant. “Maybe it was a foreshadowing,
but I had never even considered that I
would go into Medicine,” says Dr. Self.
The idea to shift directions came
suddenly. One day, after assisting with a
procedure, Dr. Self began questioning her
path. She was filled with a desire to care
for patients directly in a capacity where
she could serve as their advocate. Medical
community college and continued to work
full time, Dr. Self also received training as
an EMT and a paramedic.
She joined South Orangetown
Ambulance Corps in 1987. It was an
exciting but hectic time. Dr. Self had three
different jobs at that point and picked up
extra shifts on the ambulance whenever
possible. She worked nights, clocking
an average of 60 hours a week while still
taking a full load of classes. Despite her
long work hours, she was hesitant to slow
down. She transferred to Pace University
in 1990 and graduated with a BS in
Biology in 1992.
At that point, Dr. Self ran into some
barriers. She applied to medical school in
New York but ended up being waitlisted.
Because of her extreme work hours, she
had not been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA.
Dr. Self was concerned that this would
stop her from going to medical school;
it was the first time she began to doubt
that she had made the right decision.
She considered several alternatives, such
as pursuing social work, becoming a
Getting to Know
by Allison Howard
continued on page 18