Thomas Tokarz, DO joined the Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation as an assistant professor on September 1.
Tokarz, a physiatrist, did not follow a traditional route into medicine. When he graduate high school, he joined the U.S. Army as an infantryman, a path he followed for several years before leaving the service. From there, he worked at several other jobs including at a sterility lab and for a veterinarian before he considered medical school again. He knew he wanted something where he could interact with people and help them in his day-to-day, so he applied to medical school and was accepted at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. It wasn’t until after medical school that he discovered physiatry as the path for him.
“I originally thought I wanted to be a radiologist, but when did my internship at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda (Maryland), I found physiatry,” Tokarz said.
After his internship, the Army attached him to an aviation unit where he was a general practitioner for active duty aviators and soldiers. Majority of the clinic visits were musculoskeletal related, Tokarz said. A subtle neck strain in a helicopter pilot is taken very seriously. Not only is this irritating to the aviator, but is a potential source of distraction and danger during flight. If the pilot cannot focus on tasks, they are risking the aircraft and crew of an inherent mishap, Tokarz said. Those small details make a big difference on completing successful missions, he said.
“Patients present these little challenges all of the time, particularly war fighters where its critical to maintain deployable status. I like finding out what the issue is, what challenges it presents a patient, and how can we go about managing it,” Tokarz said. “I’m that person when someone says ‘I can’t do this’ to help them find a way where they can say ‘Yes I can.’”
After resigning his commission in the Army, Tokarz completed his residency at the University of Miami. Part of his attraction to Yale is the academic approach to medicine, where experts across disciplines can help patients overcome their problems.
“I work in the musculoskeletal realm, but I know that when I see a patient whose problem originates from a blood disorder that I will be able to work closely with colleagues to help them get the treatment they need,” Tokarz said.
He lives in East Lyme with his wife and son. When he’s not in the New London clinic or covering the inpatient rehabilitation service at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, he can be found with his family or trying to fit in a round of golf.