Through his work in private practice he became interested in emergency medicine and in 1980, moved to North Carolina where he practiced emergency medicine in three community hospitals: Lincoln County Hospital, Cleveland Memorial and Catawba Valley Medical Center.
Durch seine Arbeit in der privaten Praxis fing er an, sich für die Notfallmedizin zu interessieren und zog im Jahr 1980 nach North Carolina, wo er Notfallmedizin an drei kommunalen Krankenhäusern praktizierte: Lincoln County Hospital, Cleveland Memorial und Catawba Valley Medical Center.