Photo by: Brian Westerholt / Sports On Film
Deacon Sports Xtra: Dr. Thomas Fehring & Dr. Ben Wooster Jointly Connected Through Wake Forest Football
3/21/2022 8:00:00 AM | Football
“I dropped Ben a line and told him I would be willing to help in any way when he was a redshirt sophomore in 2007. We were both tight ends. I was an orthopedic surgeon and he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. He eventually came down, we visited and developed a relationship.” – Dr. Thomas Fehring
Dr. Thomas Fehring, a Wake Forest tight end who graduated in 1976, was enjoying a home football game in 2007 when he read a story about then redshirt-sophomore tight end Ben Wooster in the game program.
"They had a feature on Ben where it said he was interested in medicine and wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon," Fehring said. "I dropped him a line and told him I would be willing to help in any way. We were both tight ends. I was an orthopedic surgeon and he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. He eventually came down, we visited and developed a relationship."
As it turns out, Fehring was (and still is) an orthopedic physician specializing in hip and knee surgery at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte and wanted to let Wooster know he was there to give him a hand as he worked his way through his career.
"I was a redshirt sophomore," Wooster recalled. "I still have the letter. They published an article on me and then a month or so later I got Tom's letter.
"I was pre-med and still had a long way to go, but thought it was incredible that somebody like that would reach out. I researched and found out that he played tight end at Wake Forest in the 1970s. He did a bunch of mentoring things with student-athletes, things that I participate in now. So I got to talk to and get to know him better through those avenues. We stayed in touch. I did Wake Forest for medical school and then Duke for residency. All throughout my training, we stayed in touch."
Fehring commented on the close-knit fraternity of former Wake Forest players willing to help out current players with "life after football."
"This has been fostered by the unique networking event Coach Dave Clawson puts together around the time of the spring game. Former players meet with current players who are interested in a variety of post-graduation career paths. In my case I meet with players who are interested in the medical field. Other former players in the business world meet with those interested in other specific career paths answering questions and developing relationships.
"I am sure there are other former Wake Football players who have mentored graduating athletes to be successful in life after football. For a potential student-athlete considering competing at Wake Forest these types of opportunities make Wake Forest unique as we have Division I sports, excellent academics and a football fraternity that looks after their own."
Fehring has been at OrthoCarolina for 36 years. He was the final person in a seven-doctor group to begin the service that now is 150 strong. In addition to his work at OrthoCarolina, Dr. Fehring is a professor on the faculty of Atrium Health.
"Coming to Charlotte has been a nice move for me, and it is interesting that my career path that started at Wake Forest is coming full circle with the recent affiliation of Atrium Health," Fehring said.
Fehring kept up with Wooster's academic progress and then saw him marry one of his best friend's daughters, so he's kept close tabs on his career. Fehring's son has also joined him in his practice.
"I have two young, talented guys both of whom trained at the Mayo Clinic in joint replacement who are going to carry the flag for me when I retire," Fehring said.
Wooster was hired at OrthoCarolina nearly two years ago, and part of the interview process was watching the Wake Forest vs. Clemson football game together. "We are very lucky to have Ben. He has good judgment and good hands not only on the football field, but in the operating room as well," Fehring said.
"He's a huge player in terms of getting the practice to a great national reputation," Wooster said of Fehring. "It's really incredible what he's done. OrthoCarolina is up there with places like the Mayo Clinic. They're in that discussion. And they've built the top fellowship for orthopedic surgeons, especially joint replacements, and remains one of the top programs nationally. It's a dream job. So I worked very hard to be competitive enough to get a spot here."
With Wooster's achievement in the classroom, his residency and fellowship, it was a pretty easy sell to find a spot for him at OrthoCarolina.
"It makes for some close-knit alliances." Fehring said about their common experiences of being student-athletes at Wake Forest. "When you're going through the challenges in the pre-med classroom and trying to be an athlete, you develop some kinship there. I understood what Ben was going through. He wanted to be a doctor and wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, but he's playing Division I football, and is doing that about 60 hours a week. Now he has to make the grades to get into medical school. That takes a little bit extra. I'm glad to have him as a partner.
"I might have helped crack open a couple of doors for Ben, but he was at the top of his medical school class. He didn't really need my help. He kicked the door down."
Were their experiences on the field for the Demon Deacons all that similar?
Although Fehring once led the Deacs in receptions one season, the offensive styles and team success were significantly different.
In the practice, however, Fehring and Wooster are vital teammates.
"We do exactly the same thing," Fehring said. "What we built at OrthoCarolina is what we call the Hip and Knee Center. We're the referral source for problem joint replacements from the tri-state area. So if someone has a complication from Greenville, South Carolina, they send it to us. The Eastern part of the state, it comes to us. We foster doing the difficult stuff. We take on the most difficult procedures.
"We're also teachers. We work with the Atrium Health Residency program and have a post-Residency Fellowship program here at OrthoCarolina, where we train young surgeons to do complex joint replacement. We also do research, making sure what we're doing is correct, promoting advancements in our field. So, we only recruit triple-threat surgeons, who are good clinicians, do good research and want to teach. This is the kind of practice that we foster. Ben was that kind of surgeon and we are lucky to have him."
The triple-threat ability makes work even more challenging and rewarding, Wooster said.
"You get the benefits of being in a private practice, but also get the academic setting," he said. "We get to train residents and fellows who then go off into the world to do their own great things. Then we have the research that is winning national awards. Then we get to do really tough cases."
Having Fehring as a mentor and then a colleague has been nothing short of a dream come true for Wooster.
"He's been a mentor to me essentially since I was a sophomore in college," he said. "Now to be working alongside him and for him to be one of my colleagues is nothing short of a dream come true. We bounce ideas off each other, and he helps me manage the tough problems I face in my clinic. Hopefully he'll be a valuable mentor throughout the foreseeable future.
"Having the ability to network with guys like this, I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of a giant. In the field of orthopedics, Tom Fehring is a giant. The total joint world is a small world, and for him to accomplish what he has here with the resources he has is unlikely to be repeated."
"They had a feature on Ben where it said he was interested in medicine and wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon," Fehring said. "I dropped him a line and told him I would be willing to help in any way. We were both tight ends. I was an orthopedic surgeon and he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. He eventually came down, we visited and developed a relationship."
As it turns out, Fehring was (and still is) an orthopedic physician specializing in hip and knee surgery at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte and wanted to let Wooster know he was there to give him a hand as he worked his way through his career.
"I was a redshirt sophomore," Wooster recalled. "I still have the letter. They published an article on me and then a month or so later I got Tom's letter.
"I was pre-med and still had a long way to go, but thought it was incredible that somebody like that would reach out. I researched and found out that he played tight end at Wake Forest in the 1970s. He did a bunch of mentoring things with student-athletes, things that I participate in now. So I got to talk to and get to know him better through those avenues. We stayed in touch. I did Wake Forest for medical school and then Duke for residency. All throughout my training, we stayed in touch."
Fehring commented on the close-knit fraternity of former Wake Forest players willing to help out current players with "life after football."
"This has been fostered by the unique networking event Coach Dave Clawson puts together around the time of the spring game. Former players meet with current players who are interested in a variety of post-graduation career paths. In my case I meet with players who are interested in the medical field. Other former players in the business world meet with those interested in other specific career paths answering questions and developing relationships.
"I am sure there are other former Wake Football players who have mentored graduating athletes to be successful in life after football. For a potential student-athlete considering competing at Wake Forest these types of opportunities make Wake Forest unique as we have Division I sports, excellent academics and a football fraternity that looks after their own."
Fehring has been at OrthoCarolina for 36 years. He was the final person in a seven-doctor group to begin the service that now is 150 strong. In addition to his work at OrthoCarolina, Dr. Fehring is a professor on the faculty of Atrium Health.
"Coming to Charlotte has been a nice move for me, and it is interesting that my career path that started at Wake Forest is coming full circle with the recent affiliation of Atrium Health," Fehring said.
Fehring kept up with Wooster's academic progress and then saw him marry one of his best friend's daughters, so he's kept close tabs on his career. Fehring's son has also joined him in his practice.
"I have two young, talented guys both of whom trained at the Mayo Clinic in joint replacement who are going to carry the flag for me when I retire," Fehring said.
Wooster was hired at OrthoCarolina nearly two years ago, and part of the interview process was watching the Wake Forest vs. Clemson football game together. "We are very lucky to have Ben. He has good judgment and good hands not only on the football field, but in the operating room as well," Fehring said.
"He's a huge player in terms of getting the practice to a great national reputation," Wooster said of Fehring. "It's really incredible what he's done. OrthoCarolina is up there with places like the Mayo Clinic. They're in that discussion. And they've built the top fellowship for orthopedic surgeons, especially joint replacements, and remains one of the top programs nationally. It's a dream job. So I worked very hard to be competitive enough to get a spot here."
With Wooster's achievement in the classroom, his residency and fellowship, it was a pretty easy sell to find a spot for him at OrthoCarolina.
"It makes for some close-knit alliances." Fehring said about their common experiences of being student-athletes at Wake Forest. "When you're going through the challenges in the pre-med classroom and trying to be an athlete, you develop some kinship there. I understood what Ben was going through. He wanted to be a doctor and wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, but he's playing Division I football, and is doing that about 60 hours a week. Now he has to make the grades to get into medical school. That takes a little bit extra. I'm glad to have him as a partner.
"I might have helped crack open a couple of doors for Ben, but he was at the top of his medical school class. He didn't really need my help. He kicked the door down."
Were their experiences on the field for the Demon Deacons all that similar?
Although Fehring once led the Deacs in receptions one season, the offensive styles and team success were significantly different.
In the practice, however, Fehring and Wooster are vital teammates.
"We do exactly the same thing," Fehring said. "What we built at OrthoCarolina is what we call the Hip and Knee Center. We're the referral source for problem joint replacements from the tri-state area. So if someone has a complication from Greenville, South Carolina, they send it to us. The Eastern part of the state, it comes to us. We foster doing the difficult stuff. We take on the most difficult procedures.
"We're also teachers. We work with the Atrium Health Residency program and have a post-Residency Fellowship program here at OrthoCarolina, where we train young surgeons to do complex joint replacement. We also do research, making sure what we're doing is correct, promoting advancements in our field. So, we only recruit triple-threat surgeons, who are good clinicians, do good research and want to teach. This is the kind of practice that we foster. Ben was that kind of surgeon and we are lucky to have him."
The triple-threat ability makes work even more challenging and rewarding, Wooster said.
"You get the benefits of being in a private practice, but also get the academic setting," he said. "We get to train residents and fellows who then go off into the world to do their own great things. Then we have the research that is winning national awards. Then we get to do really tough cases."
Having Fehring as a mentor and then a colleague has been nothing short of a dream come true for Wooster.
"He's been a mentor to me essentially since I was a sophomore in college," he said. "Now to be working alongside him and for him to be one of my colleagues is nothing short of a dream come true. We bounce ideas off each other, and he helps me manage the tough problems I face in my clinic. Hopefully he'll be a valuable mentor throughout the foreseeable future.
"Having the ability to network with guys like this, I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of a giant. In the field of orthopedics, Tom Fehring is a giant. The total joint world is a small world, and for him to accomplish what he has here with the resources he has is unlikely to be repeated."
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