Urologist Highland offers urological services to patients of all ages, including UTI treatment and prostate surgery. Dr. Swearingen grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and graduated with honors, with a major in economics and a minor in chemistry. Dr. Swearingen attended medical school at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and completed his urology residency at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado in 2002. He has been providing high-quality urology care to patients of all ages ever since.
My love for Science:
Growing up, I was always very excited about science and learning more about the world around me. When I was 10 years old, I started watching Bill Nye the Science Guy on TV and loved how he could teach viewers about things that were completely new to them in a way that seemed so fun and easy.
In college, I knew what my focus would be right away: pre-medicine with a focus on genetics. My mom is a nurse and has always been very supportive of my decision; she has always said that I am just like her and would make an excellent doctor someday because of it.
A few memories from my childhood:
I grew up in a small town in Illinois, called Wheaton, and it was home for me for over twenty years. I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied economics and chemistry as my majors. My time there was formative: while I learned a lot of knowledge, I also became close with so many amazing people that helped shape who I am today. Plus, we can’t forget the studying abroad experience!
My struggles to get into college:
I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I received my undergraduate degree. Graduating with honors, I majored in economics and minored in chemistry during my undergraduate years. Shortly after graduating, I began my medical school training at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. Upon completing medical school, I then went on to do an internship and residency program in urology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago while simultaneously undertaking another graduate degree at Loyola’s Maywood campus- getting a master’s degree with honors.
How I found my path – An Interview With My Dad
As I reflect on the past 15 years of my life and the lessons I’ve learned, it’s clear that the advice my dad shared with me that day in our family room is what has gotten me where I am today. Do what you want, he said. Doing what you want will make all the difference. Those words have motivated me, inspired me, and continue to drive every decision I make at work, at home, and in life.
Balancing between studies and social life:
Dr. Swearingen had a hard time balancing between his studies and social life in college but was always determined to achieve his goals even if it was difficult. I can be very stubborn when I set my mind on something, he said, my parents have always been very supportive in every way of me. He is grateful for the support and dedication of both sets of parents and has since graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a major in economics and a minor in chemistry; he also became an Eagle Scout when he was 17 years old. In college, Dr.
The job I really wanted – An Interview With My Mom:
I want to be a urologist, and I know it has been my dream since I was a little girl growing up in Wheaton, Illinois. Here is my journey towards achieving that goal.
What did I do after graduation? – An Interview With Myself:
I started out my career in the pharmaceutical industry working for several companies that focused on bringing new medicines and treatments to market. After ten years in the industry, I switched gears and became a consultant, which allowed me to work with different companies all over the world, delivering presentations and management training workshops, primarily in an economic and business-to-business consulting capacity. Ultimately, I got sick of being on airplanes all of the time so I started thinking about going back into medicine full-time. A few phone calls later and an interview or two down the line, I was offered a job as a urologist at Highland Medical Group!
And finally, what led me here… – An Interview With God!
Dear Dr. Whittington,
What led you to urology? My major in college was economics, so I was looking for something in the health field with similar training (majors don’t really matter). I had never heard of urology at that point and found it as I researched various job opportunities after graduation from school. It seemed like an interesting specialization to get into – with a decent salary and very little competition (a couple of years later there are now dozens of other urologists in my town alone). Had I been able to predict the explosion of this specialty ten years ago, I might have chosen some other area! But it has still been an interesting and fulfilling career path so far!
