Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/763521
About Timothy Shaver, MD WHEN TIMOTHY SHAVER, MD, FACP, was considering specialties, the field of rheumatology was very different than it is now. "I never would have guessed that was what I was going to specialize in," says Dr. Shaver, who co-founded the Arthritis and Rheumatology Clinics of Kansas in 2001. "When I first heard there was a specialty in rheumatology, I thought, 'Why would that exist?' It seemed very narrow, but as I went further in my training I got an idea of the broader scope of what a rheumatologist did and I started noticing that whenever I saw a patient with rheumatic disease, that would be the most interesting patient I would serve." Dr. Shaver, who says he models his career after Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, says the opportunities to practice with compassion, devotion and excellence drew him to the field. He attended the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City and Wichita and then continued his education with residency and subspecialty fellowship training at the University of Oklahoma. While in school, he met and married his wife, Kay. The two have been married for 29 years and have a 27-year-old son, Dawson, who is a fourth-year medical school student, and a 23-year-old daughter, Drea, who is finishing nursing school. In the 22 years Dr. Shaver has practiced medicine, his chosen field has seen significant advances. "When I made a decision to pursue that specialty, the treatments were decent, but they were not nearly as great as they've become," Dr. Shaver says. "I've seen the field advance, and it has gone from a specialty where we've got some knowledge and some expertise and we really care to — we've got some great knowledge and some great tools, and we really care. It's nice to see that it's come along that far." says. "If there are recommenda- tions I can give to that physician and feel confident they will ta ke the ba ll a nd run with it, then I will g ive them the suggestions on how to do t hat . But , i f it 's something that requires a more focused ef for t from a specia l- ist a nd that 's going to ma ke a dif ference in how this patient does dow n t he roa d, t hen we will stay involved." QUALIT Y CARE AND QUALIT Y OF LIFE T h at i nvolvement i s cr uci a l for pat ient s w it h cond it ion s such a s rheumatoid a r thritis, a nk ylosing spondylitis, psori- atic a r thritis a nd autoimmune disorders, because of the com- plexit y involved in ma nag ing a chronic condition. " We h a v e t h e t i m e , t h e expertise and the tools to rea lly focus on the patients' rheumatic d isea se, so we ca n f i ne -t u ne the treatment a nd appropriately monitor the complications, a nd that ca n rea lly ta ke the burden away from primar y care physicians," Dr. Shaver says. R heumatoid conditions a lso interact with other bodily systems, increasing risk for ca rdiovascula r disease, diabetes a nd osteoporosis. " The No. 1 thing people think of is joint da mage a nd the deformit y a nd disabi lit y that ca n occur, but we're a lso sta r ting to appreciate the huge ca rdiova scu la r risk when it comes to rheumatoid a r thritis," Dr. Shaver says. " Patients who have rheumatoid a r thritis have rough ly double the risk of ca rdiovascula r disease as age-match controls a nd roughly double the mor ta lit y of age-match controls." Timothy Shaver, MD The team at ARCK (L-R): Maya Estephan, MD; Stacy Wagner, PA-C; Timothy Shaver, MD; Shirley Wang, MD; Shadi Shahouri, MD; Ruth Busch, APRN; and Melanie Rohr, MD Dr. Shahouri, Dr. Wang and Dr. Shaver reviewing advanced features of new ultrasound technology PHOTO © T&J STUDIOS 0 7 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S G R E AT E R K A N S A S ■ D E C 2 016 /J A N 2 017