How the Exceptional Women in Medicine Are Chosen

Castle Connolly Top Doctors is a healthcare research company and the official source for Top Doctors for the past 25 years. Castle Connolly’s established nomination survey, research, screening, and selection process, under the direction of an MD, involves many hundreds of thousands of physicians as well as academic medical centers, specialty hospitals, and regional and community hospitals all across the nation.

The online nominations process — located at www.castleconnolly.com/nominations — is open to all licensed physicians in America who are able to nominate physicians in any medical specialty and in any part of the country, as well as indicate whether the nominated physician is, in their opinion, among the best in their region in their medical specialty or among the best in the nation in their medical specialty. Once nominated, Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels.

Careful screening of doctors’ educational and professional experience is essential before final selection is made among those physicians most highly regarded by their peers. The result: We identify the top doctors in America and provide you, the consumer, with detailed information about their education, training, and special expertise in our paperback guides, national and regional magazine “Top Doctors” features, and online directories.

Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

Physicians selected for inclusion in this magazine’s “Top Doctors” feature also appear online at castleconnolly.com, or in conjunction with other Castle Connolly Top Doctors databases online on other sites and/or in print.

Castle Connolly was acquired by Everyday Health Group (EHG), one of the world’s most prominent digital healthcare companies, in late 2018. EHG, a recognized leader in patient and provider education, attracts an engaged audience of over 53 million health consumers and over 780,000 U.S. practicing physicians and clinicians to its premier health and wellness websites. EHG combines social listening data and analytics expertise to deliver highly personalized healthcare consumer content and effective patient engagement solutions. EHG’s vision is to drive better clinical and health outcomes through decision-making informed by highly relevant data and analytics. Healthcare professionals and consumers are empowered with trusted content and services through the Everyday Health Group’s flagship brands including Everyday Health®, What to Expect®, MedPage Today®, Health eCareers®, PRIME® Education, and our exclusive partnership with MayoClinic.org® and The Mayo Clinic Diet.® Everyday Health Group is a division of J2 Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JCOM), and is headquartered in New York City.

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Good health is the baseline. For everything. How we work, how we play, what we choose to eat, where (and how often) we travel. The Mid-South has an abundance of hospitals and clinics that exist for the shared mission of a thriving community: wellness. Within those institutions, though, are women who have made it their own life mission to heal the sick and keep those blessed with good health on the right path, regardless of life stage.

Let this year’s list of Exceptional Women in Medicine be your first resource should you be in need of care, be it a sprained wrist or lingering stomach discomfort. These specialists have been chosen among peers as the best in their field. Your good health is their baseline.

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An associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Dr. Claudette Shephard is a gynecologist at Regional One Health. Her medical degree is from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California, and her internship and residency were at SUNY-Health Science Center at Brooklyn/Kings County Hospital Center in New York. Her pediatric and adolescent gynecology fellowship was at UTHSC.

Shephard has been in Memphis for 30 years and is continuing her groundbreaking work in pediatric and adolescent gynecology, but is taking on further duties in a new role as associate dean for diversity and inclusion for the college. “This is an area more and more institutions are looking at so we can truly address the needs of our patients and make sure that our trainees, students, residents, and active faculty are respected and appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the table,” she says.

Shephard has seen how the pandemic has brought changes to her field. “It has tested our resources, which has tested our creativity,” she says. “We never thought that we could get so much accomplished without physically being in the same space, but we’ve adapted to technology. Telemedicine and telehealth have taken off and allowed us to reach patients who otherwise may not have been able to make it to their appointments. It expanded the scope and it has connected the medical community because we can now benefit from the expertise of individuals in another state. We had the technology to do that, but it wasn’t done on a regular basis.”

It is also now possible to reach patients in more useful ways. “If we have a pregnant woman at home with children or concerned about leaving because of the pandemic, she can still make her OB visits,” Shephard says. “We can still check on the moms to make sure they’re doing well. We can provide prenatal education classes virtually.”

And patients don’t have to take time off for follow-ups. “Now I can do a telehealth visit, check up on my patients, and not have to disrupt what’s going on in their household,” she says. “And patient compliance, I think, is increased when we make provisions for that. You’re really getting better results from all of this.” Better outcomes are boosted by the new ways of doing things. Blood pressure monitors, for example, are now in more homes so the patient can take a reading.

“No matter what we do in terms of trying to provide education, to provide resources, we still have patients who have great needs,” Shephard says, pointing out that sexual abuse has been exacerbated by the pandemic. “Children were at home in the early phases of the pandemic, often in a setting that continued to expose them to their abusers, and without the outlets of school to share with a counselor.”

With the pandemic showing where these pockets of crimes are happening, she says there is a continuing need to make sure that reproductive healthcare needs of adolescents “are addressed in terms of education, contraception, empowering them to be more responsible, and take a role in understanding how it affects them long-term.” — Jon W. Sparks

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Allergy & Immunology

Nora Daher

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Daher Asthma and Allergy Clinic

2136 Exeter Road

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 203-6055

Christie F. Michael

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Cardiovascular Disease

Jennifer S. Morrow

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Stern Cardiovascular

8060 Wolf River Boulevard

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 271-1000

Maureen A. Smithers

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Saint Francis Hospital Bartlett

Sutherland Cardiology Clinic

7460 Wolf River Boulevard

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 763-0200

Neeraja Yedlapati

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

UT Methodist Physicians Cardiology

1211 Union Avenue, Suite 965

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 435-8550

Child Neurology

Tanjala T. Gipson

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

848 Adams Avenue

Memphis, TN 38103

(866) 870-5570

Amy L. McGregor

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

848 Adams Avenue, Suite L400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Robin L. Morgan

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Le Bonheur Outpatient Center

848 Adams Avenue, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Namrata S. Shah

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

Neurology Clinic

848 Adams Avenue

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Clinical Genetics

Jewell C. Ward

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Dermatology

Gwen F. Beard

Memphis Dermatology Clinic

1455 Union Avenue

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 726-6655

Luella G. Churchwell

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis

Dermatology East

1335 Cordova Cove

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 753-2794

Robin H. Friedman-Musicante

Memphis Dermatology Clinic

1455 Union Avenue

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 726-6655

Frances K. Lawhead

Memphis Dermatology Clinic

1455 Union Avenue

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 726-6655

Purvisha J. Patel

Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Associates

7658 Poplar Pike

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 759-2322

Malika Tuli

Mid-South Dermatology

6644 Summer Knoll Circle

Bartlett, TN 38134

(901) 372-4545

Teresa S. Wright

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Le Bonheur Outpatient Center

848 Adams Avenue, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

Toni M. Whitaker

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities

711 Jefferson Avenue

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Diagnostic Radiology

Sue C. Kaste

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Department of Diagnostic Imaging

262 Danny Thomas Place, Mail Stop 220

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 595-3347

Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism

Lisa M. Myers

Endocrinology and Diabetes Specialists

1920 Kirby Parkway, Suite 102

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 334-5464

Family Medicine

Ericka L. Gunn-Hill

Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis

Jackson-Randle Family Healthcare

5142 Stage Road, Suite 100

Memphis, TN 38134

(901) 382-2040

Aparna K. Murti

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Methodist Medical Group

2589 Appling Road, Suite 101

Bartlett, TN 38133

(901) 752-2300

Gynecologic Oncology

Linda M. Smiley

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

West Cancer Center

7945 Wolf River Boulevard

Memphis, TN 38138

(901) 683-0055

Infectious Disease

Shirin Mazumder

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Methodist Medical Group – Infectious Disease

1325 Eastmoreland Avenue, Suite 370

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 758-7888

Internal Medicine

Joan Michelle Allmon

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Aim Allmon Internal Medicine

526 Halle Park Drive

Collierville, TN 38017

(901) 910-3246

Martha N. Taylor

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Methodist Medical Group

7690 Wolf River Circle

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 756-1231

Natascha S. Thompson

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Baptist Medical Group

8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 227-7900

Catherine R. Womack

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

UT Methodist Physicians

Primary Care

57 Germantown Court, Suite 100

Cordova, TN 38018

(901) 758-7888

Medical Oncology

Sylvia S. Richey

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

West Cancer Center

7945 Wolf River Boulevard

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 683-0055

Carmel S. Verrier

Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis

West Cancer Center

7945 Wolf River Boulevard

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 683-0055

Nephrology

Lynn Ebaugh

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville

East Memphis Nephrology

7640 Wolf River Circle, Floor 2

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 755-0208

Neurology

Rohini Bhole

University Clinical Health

1331 Union Avenue, Floor 11

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 866-8811

Violiza Inoa Acosta

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Regional One Health

Semmes Murphey Clinic

6325 Humphreys Boulevard

Memphis, TN 38120

(901) 522-7700

Barbara Cape O’Brien

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville

Neurology Clinic

8000 Centerview Parkway, Suite 500

Cordova, TN 38018

(901) 747-1111

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Lanetta Anderson

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Womens Physicians Group

7705 Poplar Avenue, B Building – Suite 110

Memphis, TN 38138

(901) 273-1190

Heather Pearson Chauhan

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Exceed Hormone Specialists

7512 Second Street

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 312-7899

Vanessa M. Givens

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Women’s Health Specialists

7800 Wolf Trail Cove

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 682-9222

Claudette J. Shephard

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Regional One Health

Outpatient Center

880 Madison Avenue, Suite 3E01

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 515-3800

Ophthalmology

Penny A. Asbell

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

University Clinical Health

Hamilton Eye Institute

930 Madison Avenue, Suite 200

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 448-6650

Lauren C. Ditta

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

University Clinical Health

Hamilton Eye Institute

930 Madison Avenue, Suite 200

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Mary E. Hoehn

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Hamilton Eye Institute

930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Natalie C. Kerr

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

University Clinical Health

Hamilton Eye Institute

930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Otolaryngology

Victoria L. Lim

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville

Shea Clinic

6133 Poplar Pike

Memphis, TN 38119

(901) 761-9720

Pediatric Endocrinology

Alicia M. Diaz-Thomas

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Joan C. Han

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 100

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

Melody J. Cunningham

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

848 Adams Avenue, Suite L400

Memphis, TN 38103

(901) 287-7337

Pediatric Nephrology

Margaret C. Hastings

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Rima Zahr

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Le Bonheur Outpatient Center

51 North Dunlap Street

Memphis, TN 38105

(866) 870-5570

Pediatric Otolaryngology

Jennifer D. Mclevy

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite G10

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Rose Mary Stocks

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Le Bonheur Outpatient Center

51 North Dunlap Street, 1st floor

Memphis, TN 38105

(866) 870-5570

Pediatric Pulmonology

Patricia J. Dubin

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Tonia E. Gardner

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 4

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Pediatric Rheumatology

Linda K. Myers

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 100

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Pediatric Urology

Dana W. Giel

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 100

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Pediatrics

Janet D. Geiger

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

River City Pediatrics

6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 610

Memphis, TN 38119

(901) 761-1280

Elisha M. McCoy

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 287-7337

Dawn H. Scott

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Pediatric Consultants

51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 310

Memphis, TN 38105

(901) 523-2945

Ellen J. Stecker

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

River City Pediatrics

6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 610

Memphis, TN 38119

(901) 761-1280

Plastic Surgery

Patricia L. Eby

Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis

Cosmetic Surgery Specialists of Memphis

6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 360

Memphis, TN 38119

(901) 752-1412

Pulmonary Disease

Amik Sodhi

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

UT Methodist Physicians

1325 Eastmoreland Avenue, Suite 370

Memphis, TN 38104

(901) 758-7888

Radiation Oncology

Jenny Tibbs

Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis

Department of Radiation Oncology

5959 Park Avenue

Memphis, TN 38119

(901) 765-2050

Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility

Amelia Bailey

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Fertility Associates of Memphis

80 Humphreys Center, Suite 307

Memphis, TN 38120

(901) 747-2229

Surgery

Alyssa D. Throckmorton

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women

Baptist Medical Group

Memphis Breast Care

6215 Humphreys Boulevard, Suite 208

Memphis, TN 38120

(901) 227-8950

Lindi Hanna Vanderwalde

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women

Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital

Baptist Medical Group

Memphis Breast Care

6215 Humphreys Boulevard, Suite 208

Memphis, TN 38120

(901) 227-8950

Urogynecology/Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery

Val Y. Vogt

Methodist University Hospital – Memphis

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis

The Conrad Pearson Clinic

1325 Wolf Park Drive, Suite 102

Germantown, TN 38138

(901) 252-3400

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