Each week, #SpanningtheNeed will present an “Inspirational Person of the Week’ and have a “Q & A” with one of its many gifted individuals and/or groups who are willing to go out of their own way to help others. This week’s featured is Dr. John Cox from Wee One’s Pediatrics.
Name: Dr. John Cox
Organization: Wee One’s Pediatrics
Bio:
Dr. John Cox is a pediatrician at Wee One’s Pediatrics in Canfield, Ohio. He completed his medical education at the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Cox completed his residency training at Todd Children’s Hospital, where he also served as chief resident. He went on to work as a pediatric hospitalist with University Hospitals and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio, for eight years before establishing his private practice in Canfield.
What made you want to go into this field?
I went into this field because I loved children. I was always around kids growing up and knew I wanted to be a physician. And then pediatrics became a natural selection for me period. Plus also, I am very childlike. Just asked my wife.
What’s the biggest factor that has helped you be successful?
The biggest factor for me as a pediatrician is just uh, work ethic. I knew I might not be the smartest person, but I knew I could outwork almost anyone. This was instilled by my family at a very early age. So I would say work ethic and determination got me through a lot of hard times during my residency and early in my career.
What is the biggest professional mistake you made along the way?
My biggest professional mistake, I would say, was my inability to understand when to slow down. I was consumed with work at times and needed a better balance. Theater became my balance. And since I have had that, it has greatly enhanced my professional life.
What is the hardest decision you ever had to make in this field?
I think that usually just involves clinical issues. I have been under the belief that if I do things the right way, opportunities will present themselves. This has continued to happen throughout my career. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t really had to make any hard decisions. Maybe when I decided to join Dr. Diana Tolan in private practice after I left being a hospitalist, that was a decision, but it wasn’t a hard one. It was just the next step in my career.
If you could start all over again, what would you do differently regarding your profession?
I don’t know if I’d do anything differently. I believe that my decision to go into pediatrics was a good one. My decision to be a hospitalist and learn acute care medicine was necessary for my career as a general pediatrician in town. I am comfortable with all kinds of really sick children. And being able to be in an office setting that has helped my clinical judgment and has made me a better doctor. So I’ve been pretty lucky.
What inspires you to do good in our community?
I am inspired by other people and the good they do in our community. I watch others get involved in projects or helping each other out. This is home for me. I grew up here. My family grew up here. I was taught by my family to be involved. Somehow with the community, and to give back, and this has been a great asset for me along the way. So I am inspired by other people’s works and how they are selfless in their dedication to each other. We’re all in the same boat.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering in our community?
My volunteer work is mostly through the theater. So what I like is that I get to help inspire young kids and expose them to theater. It is something that I was exposed to, and I feel is very good for general education for all kids. Theater teaches people to work together and to listen and to be involved and do something collaboratively. This is very much like how life is. So I enjoy inspiring others to learn and grow. And I think that this also builds the character of our community for future generations. So as a pediatrician, I can share my passion of theatre and expose kids to an art form that can help them in the future. It has been a great marriage.
What song best describes you or is the soundtrack to your life?
I would say maybe All you Need is Love, by the Beatles or just the Beatles in general. The soundtrack of my youth was a lot of Beatles songs and the melodies and the words have always been inspiring.
What is your best accomplishment/experience in life?
My best accomplishment in life would be my children. Being able to raise kids today and to have good kids and hard-working kids has been a joy. I have a blended family. And I have step kids, and everybody gets along, and they act as one big family. That has been the greatest joy to watch them stick up for each other. And to continue to live the ideals that I was taught by my family. Being able to pass that down to my kids has been a great blessing.
Who is your role model and why?
My greatest role model is easy. That was my dad. My dad has been gone now for 20 years, and still continues to be an inspiration to me. He is the man that taught me to work hard to always believe that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. He got me involved in community service, that was big for him, and he dedicated his life to that in the township in Boardman, and through Mahoning County through most of his life. So it’s easy to say that he has easily been my greatest role model and still is.
If there was one person that you would like to meet, past or present and why?
I would like to have met Leonardo da Vinci. I think that his involvement in many different aspects, sculpting and science and painting and all he did is amazing. There are certain people that I think are born that are just ahead of their time, and I believe he was one of them. So because of my multiple interests, I think it would have been amazing to talk to him and meet him and just see how that mind operated. It’s fascinating.
A favorite quote that you live by?
My dad told me that if you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. And I completely think this is a true statement. It has helped me throughout my life.
