Dr. Christopher R. Ball: Vanatta, Hesser, Schmalstieg Excellence in Tutoring Award

By Ryan Daugherty

Having an interest in the functions and processes of the brain along with a strong desire to help people are two great qualities to have as someone who studies radiology. Dr. Christopher Ball has both of those, and while they have helped him succeed during his time at UT Southwestern Medical Center, they can help him even more in his future plans.

Dr. Christopher R. Ball
Dr. Christopher R. Ball

That burning passion for helping others has proven to be a highly valuable quality for Dr. Ball, and it has led him to teaching, which is something he loves to do. During his years at UT Southwestern Medical School, he helped tutor fellow students, primarily MS2s and MS4s.

“I’ve always enjoyed the idea of teaching,” he said. “It was a way to get started toward one of my career goals, and I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet.”

Dr. Ball said that tutoring has been an activity that provided as much enjoyment to him as it provided academic help to others. That two-way view of education is a big reason why he is the 2015 recipient of the Vanatta, Hesser, Schmalstieg Excellence in Tutoring Award. The award, which includes a certificate and $500, honors graduating seniors who have made a significant contribution to tutoring fellow students.

“Chris Ball follows in a line of outstanding senior medical students as the recipient of this special recognition,” said Carol Wortham, Manager of Student Academic Assistance Services in the Office of Medical Education. “He began his tutoring career as an MS2, working with at-risk students in physiology and neuroscience, and then came back this year in clinical medicine and pathology. Chris showed the highest level of dedication to his fellow students, by making time for them in his very busy schedule and always coming prepared.”

For Dr. Ball, achieving excellence is nothing new. He studied at Baylor University, where he double-majored in business and economics. During his time at Baylor he won the Robert E. Cook Award, an award for outstanding student in economics.

As for the next chapter in Dr. Ball’s life, he will be moving to Illinois to train in Internal Medicine.

“I’m doing an intern year next at the University of Illinois-Chicago (College of Medicine), and I’ll be back at UT Southwestern for radiology,” he said.

While his future looks to be going down the path of radiology, Dr. Ball didn’t always plan to go that route. He had been interested in neurology at first, and he credits his professors for leading him to radiology.

“I took neurology and they had suggested that I was interested in imaging, and that I should go talk to Dr. Kristen Bishop, the medical student advisor for radiology,” he said. “She recommended that I go to a meeting with Dr. Michael Craig Morriss [Professor of Radiology]. When I sat through that presentation, he was going through all the different kinds of imaging you can do. There’s nothing cooler than looking at or being able to see into someone’s brain.”

Part of the appeal of radiology, Dr. Ball said, was the discipline within the profession and the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.

“The thing that drew me toward radiology is that it’s a very broad discipline,” he said. “There are all kinds of patients, and everyone seems to get imaging. So you still get that broad appeal. You have a goal to help and you’re trying to affect every patient in a positive way.”

Dr. Ball hopes to serve in an academic setting in radiology eventually, and he also plans to pursue a fellowship after his medical training.

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