Dr. Poteet had an early introduction to the kind of “patient-first” medicine that is the heart of Urology Partners of North Texas. “My father is an internal medicine physician, so I grew up around medicine,” he says. “I saw how grateful people were for his excellent care. During medical school, I actually did some rotations with him. Being in the room with him, watching 30 years of experience in action and the way patients responded to him was powerful. When he retired two years ago, the line of patients who came to say goodbye was out the door. Seeing his impact on so many lives made an impression. It definitely shaped the way I practice medicine.”
Drawn to the surgical side of medicine, Dr. Poteet originally considered cardiology or general surgery, but changed his mind after a rotation in urology. “There’s a lot of breadth and variety in urology. We treat men and women of all ages, and offer a variety of treatments that range from 10-minute vasectomies to seven-hour reconstructive surgeries. With some procedures, the removal of a kidney stone, for example, we can offer an immediate fix that helps patients feel better right away.”
Other procedures are literally life changing. “I treated a 45-year-old woman with a diseased kidney that had been making her sick for years,” he explains. “Once the kidney was removed, she immediately got better and returned to the healthy, vibrant, very active woman she’d been before.”
Regardless of the high-tech tools at his disposal, Dr. Poteet believes healing begins with listening. “Studies show the average physician interrupts a patient 30 seconds into the visit,” he says. “I want to hear my patients tell their story in their own words before I begin asking questions.”
Along with their medical histories, Dr. Poteet likes to learn about his patients on a personal level. “I love to know where people live, where their family is, what they do, which hobbies they like,” he adds. “I’m always amazed at the fascinating things I learn about people.”
Those conversations go a long way toward building trust and a bond that can last many years—even overcome distance, as Dr. Poteet has learned from long-time patients he cared for in Waco. “Some of them have followed me to Urology Partners and drive 120 miles to see me. Even though there are fantastic doctors in my former group, they are adamant about still seeing me.”
A native Texan, Dr. Poteet grew up in Temple, Texas. He earned his undergraduate degree at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and completed his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine in Galveston. He completed his residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences in Shreveport.
When he is not caring for patients, Dr. Poteet lives in Aledo with his wife and three young children. He enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time at a ranch that’s been in the Poteet family for five generations.
