Nephrologist Dr. David McMillan joins the Methodist lineup

David McMillan, DO, knew he wanted to be a doctor when he was 5 years old. But it wasn’t until later that he decided his specialty.

“I spent some time with a nephrologist whom I really admired because with every patient we interacted with in the hospital, he not only took the time to figure out how to help them with where they were at but also looked into what caused them to end up in the hospital,” he said.

Dr. McMillan, a nephrologist with Methodist Physicians Clinic – Nephrology, knows that kidney disease can be full of uncertainty, which is why he’s dedicated to educating his patients.

“I try to help give a little bit of clarity to people by taking information and distilling it down to the basic principles of things,” he said. “If people can understand basic concepts, they have the ability to grasp this much larger, daunting disease process.”

He also believes that his job is to help patients make their own informed decisions.

“After someone gets an understanding of what’s happening, then instead of sitting across from you, I come and I sit beside you because what we’re doing is we’re looking together at the problem,” he said. “And my goal is to put my arm around you and help you understand we’re in this together. This is how we can navigate this, but the decision of how you want to navigate this is up to you, based on your goals.”

When he’s not seeing patients in the clinic or hospital, Dr. McMillian loves spending time with his wife and three kids, and volunteering at his church. He’s also a self-proclaimed theater nerd and enjoys watching and even performing in shows, when time allows.