Studying Journalism Led Dr. Carter to Her Life’s Work as a Valleywise Health Pediatrician
As an undergraduate student at Northwestern University in Illinois, Dr. Jodi Carter’s goal was to be a journalist. But an eye-opening experience at a local hospital changed her life’s trajectory.
“The thing I loved most about journalism was the human element,” said Dr. Carter, Valleywise Health Pediatrics Department Chair. “I thought people’s stories were so interesting.”
“When I joined the undergraduate school newspaper in my junior year, I was assigned a story at Georgetown Hospital where many babies and mothers were infected with human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV),” she said. “As I walked around that floor, every room had a different family and a different story,” said Dr. Carter. “I just wanted to know what was happening in each of these rooms.”
The experience inspired Dr. Carter to volunteer once a week in the pediatric unit at Georgetown Hospital. It was during that experience she realized how much she enjoyed being there. “I thought I was supposed to be a journalist, but it turns out I was supposed to be a doctor so I could be invited into people’s lives at integral, critical times, every day,” said Dr. Carter.
After working in both private practice and at a Valley children’s hospital, Dr. Carter joined Valleywise Health in 2021. For more than 24 years, she has advocated for children and families to have the best healthcare and resources available.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into crucial moments in people’s lives and to be trusted with their deepest fears and concerns, and sometimes triumphs,” said Dr. Carter. “My favorite question when I meet a new patient and their family is, ‘Start at the beginning and then tell me more.’”
“It turns out you can learn a lot from their stories,” Dr. Carter concluded. “What I liked about journalism all those years ago, and what drew me to it, is still connective tissue and applicable to medicine today. I cannot imagine doing any other job.”
“Fortunately, most children are healthy. However, one of the challenges in pediatric healthcare is ensuring that they remain healthy and grow into thriving adults, which requires a long-term investment—an investment whose returns aren’t immediate but are seen years down the line. What we’re doing at Valleywise Health is exactly that: investing in our youth, because they are the future. One day, these children will be the adults who live, work, and contribute to our community in essential ways. Every day, by supporting their health and well-being, we are shaping the future of Maricopa County.”
To support the work of Valleywise Health Foundation.
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