Dr. Westmoreland grew up in South Carolina and now calls Louisiana home. He is one of the newest core faculty members at St. Tammany/Ochsner Family Medicine Residency Program. He completed his undergraduate training with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of South Carolina at Aiken then received his medical degree at Tulane University and completed his family medicine residency program at East Jefferson General Hospital.
We asked Dr. Westmoreland to talk about his path to becoming a family physician. He stated, “I took a circuitous path to medicine. I was always curious about how the “things’ worked and was drawn to science. Following graduation from USC-Aiken, I worked as a research technician at the Medical College of Georgia studying how the vertebrate body is organized. That exposure sparked more questions about biomedical research, and how research can lead to novel therapies to treat disease. I then matriculated through Vanderbilt University, where I received a PhD in Cell and Development investigating mesendoderm development.”
He continued, “The next chapter in my journey was a postdoctoral fellowship at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis studying the development of the pancreas and schizophrenia. My family moved to the New Orleans area to accept faculty positions at Tulane University in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. Although the thrill of discovering new information was exciting, there was still a disconnect between new knowledge and new therapies. During my postdoctoral fellowship, I started contemplating the transition from basic to clinic sciences, and with the help and support of my family I started a new career.”
In his role at the St. Tammany Ochsner Family Medicine Residency Program, Dr. Westmoreland practices both outpatient and hospital medicine as a core faculty member seeing all ages in the clinic and adults in the hospital. We asked him how he is enjoying his new role. He stated, “Working with residents and watching them as they increase their medical knowledge and improve their clinical skills is rewarding.”
Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with his wife and twin pre-teens. In his spare time, one of his favorite things to do is small-scale construction. They build entertainment centers, desks, cabinet organizers, and bookcases for our house.
Help us congratulate Dr. Westmoreland as our September Member of the Month!
LAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Louisiana family physicians in the Weekly Family Medicine Update and on the LAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different LAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting Lee Ann Albert at