Dr. Marty Fulbright is an Orthopedic Surgeon and a provider for Marshall County Medical and Surgical Group based out of Benton, Kentucky. He grew up in South Carolina, where he experienced a lot of illness in his family, which inspired him to become a part of the medical community. Dr. Marty Fulbright is a graduate of Wofford College, in Spartanburg, South Carolina where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and received his MD from the Medical University of South Carolina. Marty completed his residency at the University of South Carolina, where he was there until 1999. Before moving to Kentucky, he spent time living in West Tennessee but decided that the quiet life outside of the city was a better fit, so Dr. Fulbright moved to Western Kentucky and joined Marshall County Medical and Surgical Group in 2016. He is board certified with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, since 2001 and is a member of the State Orthopedic Society and the American Orthopedic Association.
When Marty isn’t juggling a medical career between his office and the operating room, he enjoys reading books about different religions, as well as a variety of eBooks and spending time with his son’s ages 17 and 18. Marty Fulbright also loves keeping fit by working out and tinkering with things around his yard. He enjoys various types of volunteer work to help the surrounding community when his schedule allows him to do so.
Why did you choose to become a doctor?
I chose to become a doctor because I wanted to help people find ways to get better. When I was growing up, my mom suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, and my sister had a rare form of Lupus, as well as other relatives suffering from various sicknesses. So, I wanted to have the ability to heal those in the community. When I decided to go to medical school, I took a look to see which field of medicine had the best overall ratings, and that is when I discovered Orthopedics. From there, that is what I set out to do, was to get into Orthopedic Medicine.
What area do you specialize in?
I specialize in Orthopedic Surgery. The reason why I work in this field is that I realize that in a lot of the branches of medicine, you’re just managing conditions wherein Orthopedics you have a chance actually to correct it or even cure the disease. But you can adjust the problem; then I think you can get people back to normal, for the most part. There are no guarantees with other branches of medicine. I wanted to be a part of something where most of my patients are satisfied with their treatments.
What is your daily routine?
I wake up at about five in the morning and head on to the hospital usually somewhere between 7 and 8 am. I then see my patients throughout the day, and if I have surgeries scheduled, I perform those. Once I finish work for the day, I go to the gym to get my workout done. Since I am about helping my patients with their health, it is good to show a great example and work on my health as well. Once I am finished with the gym, I head home to spend time with my boys and do things they enjoy. On the weekends I like to do yard work, as a way to relax. In the evenings, I want to unwind before bed by reading an excellent book, or I watch a good tv show.
What do you love about your job?
I love that I can help my patients overcome their ailments to where they’re as close to normal as possible. I can give them advice and tips about the different things they can do to start the healing process, whether it is a fracture or something that can help them pause the progression of any condition that affects the bones in their bodies. That way they can get back to doing the things they enjoyed before, the patient became injured or whatnot.
What would you consider to be the greatest accomplishment in your career?
There are a few accomplishments that I think are great. One of them is when I completed my residency, which was five years in the making. I will also add that I was able to get involved in a research project while I was in medical school, which led me to be a part of some publications in a few medical journals. That is aside from being to help each of my patients heal, so they can get back to doing normal things.
Tell our readers about some of your volunteer activities.
It has been a while since I have done a lot of volunteer work. That is because we had been dealing with my wife’s daughter’s passing from a car accident a few years ago. But when I do, I like to go through things that are gently used throughout my house and donate them to people in need throughout the community. I try to make those in my community happy, even if it’s for a little while. I sometimes go to the soup kitchens and help feed those who may not have a hot meal readily available to them. Doing volunteer work to me brings a sense of humbleness because there are so many who don’t have the things that most of us take for granted.
When you look forward to your career what is one trend in medicine that you see impacting your specialties of the most and why do you see it doing so?
I think it comes down to two things that I think are the trends that most doctors, including myself, are using more with our patients. One is better detection methods, to find infections in the bones as well as better nutritional support before surgery. The other is that more doctors are using a combination of both alternative and conventional medicine to help treat patients as a whole, rather than just a set of symptoms that need to heal.
What do you do to separate yourself from your job mentally?
I love listening to 70s music, to help unwind from a long day in the office or the surgery room. I get down and dance a bit while singing along with some of my favorite songs. As I was saying earlier, I love learning about all types of religions, so I spend a lot of time reading different books on that because it’s good to learn how different people practice their faith in God.
Where do you want to be in your career in the next five years?
I would love to find a way to fit in more research projects. Unfortunately, that is a part of going to a smaller area, was giving up the ability to do more medical research papers, and has limited my ability to do them. So, I would love to find some new ways to fit in different research projects with larger companies.
What makes you stand out from other physicians?
I’m a very present person. When patients are with me, they know I am very attentive to their individual’s needs. I try to be very present to their needs, where they are in the recovery process to help them move forward in the healing process. Whether it is chiropractic care or a massage, these help each patient with the process of recovery. I do like playing old school style video games because it helps with keeping your hand/eye coordination in check.