I
CAN DO ALL THINGS...
Meet Jacksonville’s Denise
L. Whisenant, MD, JD, an Outstanding Woman of Color who refused to let
a silly thing like a hearing impediment stand in her way.
by Lillian Seays
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What
do you call an outstanding M.D. who has just received her
juris doctorate - making her both a doctor and an attorney?
“I will still be referred to as ‘Dr. Whisenant,”
she says, “as lawyers are still referred to by ‘Mr.,’
‘Ms.,’ etc.”
To add to joy of receiving her second professional degree,
her own son - who attended school the same time as his mom
and even shared a class - placed the hood around her neck
at commencement exercises. “It was a wonderful feeling,
knowing that he had also arrived professionally,”
beams the scholar and proud mom. “And of course, he
was my baby boy, so naturally, I was very pleased.”
Dr.
Whisenant is preparing to take the Florida BAR exam in July
2005, but she’s not worried. “I have wanted
to study law for many years, and I have enjoyed doing so
immensely. I first entertained the idea shortly after completing
my residency training while working with a fellow physician
who was practicing medicine part- |
time
and attending law school part-time,” she continues.
“However, at the time I still had two young children
at home and I chose not to put my family through the rigors
and time consumption of undertaking a second professional
career.” When her youngest child finished undergraduate
school, though, her family encouraged her to take the
leap toward pursing a law degree. “My husband especially
said to me, 'you have been talking about going to law
school for many years, so now what's holding you up?'
With that kind of encouragement and support, what was
holding me up?”
The
wife of Beranton J. Whisenant, Sr., M.D., an emergency
medicine physician at UF Shands Jacksonville, the legacy
of excellence runs in this family. Their daughter Kimara
graduated from Michigan State University College of Human
Medicine with a M.D, degree in May 2003. “During
her medical school training, she took a keen interest
in medical research as well - an interest she continues
to pursue,” says Whisenant. “Upon completing
medical school, she did her internship at Yale. Currently,
she is dermatology research fellow at John Hopkins.”
Their son, Beranton J. Whisenant, Jr., Esq. is an Assistant
State Attorney in Jacksonville.
Dr. Whisenant plans to use her dual degrees to practice
in areas of health care law and medical malpractice defense
but she’s not limiting herself. The sky is her limit.
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