“I want to be just like them when I grow up.” It’s a phrase many children declare, but for Dr. William Cheatwood IV, it has become a reality. Watching his father, Dr. William Cheatwood III, care for patients and connect with families made the idea of practicing medicine feel both natural and meaningful.
For the Cheatwood Family, caring for others is a part of their DNA. Dr. Cheatwood III’s own journey to medicine began in childhood, inspired by his mother, an operating room nurse who retired from Centra in 2014 after nearly 50 years of service. Initially, he pursued a career as CPA, earning an accounting degree from Liberty University in 1990.
When his wife experienced a miscarriage in 1991, his interest in medicine resurfaced in a profound way. “While in the hospital with her, my desire to be a physician resurfaced. It was that night with Dr. Bill Cook that I decided to return to school and become a physician,” he recalled. Fulfilling his dream in 1999, Dr. Cheatwood graduated from the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine and subsequently completed his residency at Centra’s Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency (LFMR) in 2002.
When we asked him what stood out from his residency experience, Dr. Cheatwood was clear—the people. He went on to explain, “So many of the people that I met during that time are people I would go on to work with the rest of my career.” After 23 years of practicing, some of the highlights of his career are the patients he has connected with and the continued relationships that he has had with his coworkers within the hospital. He went on to share, “The most rewarding aspect of my career is meeting interesting patients and hearing their stories in addition to working and learning alongside people much smarter than me.”
His advice to his younger self? “Chase your dream and believe in yourself.” That’s exactly what his son, Will, who is the first legacy resident at LFMR, is doing. After briefly testing the waters in accounting during his undergraduate years, he realized it wasn’t for him. The pull toward medicine, a profession he had seen lived out by both his father and grandmother, was too strong to ignore.
“I liked the idea of work that was more than just work,” he remarked. “It’s nice to be in a position where you can do something tangible to help people.”
His path to residency has been closely tied to Centra. He worked as an ambassador for three years, scribed in the Emergency Department for two years and completed rotations here while in medical school at Liberty University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Now, as a first-year resident at LFMR, he’s experiencing many of the same milestones his father did. Making this chapter even more meaningful, his wife, Nicole, is also a first-year resident in the program.
While he hasn’t yet decided on the specific area of family medicine that he wants to pursue, Dr. Cheatwood IV knows one thing for certain: he values the career path he’s pursuing and the opportunity to make a difference right where he grew up.
