Alison Ward Goldsmith, MD, ’02 is Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine. She received her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Anthropology and French Literature, and her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Ward completed an integrated general surgery/cardiothoracic surgery residency and a cardiothoracic surgery research fellowship at NYU before moving to Atlanta, Georgia.
*Published in the 2025 Alumnae Bulletin
The Chapin School is synonymous with academic excellence. For Dr. Alison Ward Goldsmith that foundation is strong and central to her story, but she also credits the School as a place where she developed her sense of self and found her calling. Alison discovered her love of science here and recalls the teachers who took note of her enthusiasm and aptitude for the discipline and made sure to encourage and challenge her in and out of the classroom. Alison thrived on the field, as well, learning the value of dedication, practice and collaboration on the field hockey team. It was also because of Chapin that Alison had the opportunity to shadow a cardiac surgeon, which solidified her love of medicine and her desire to become a doctor. She sees Chapin as having fostered not only her love of learning, but as a space that developed her as a whole person.
Reflecting on her time at the School, Alison remembers how much she loved her time here. She and her classmates would race from their apartment buildings to see who could arrive at those double oak doors the fastest. She fondly recounts other memories like how much she loved her field hockey team and how she counted down the days each summer until practices started again. Or in Lower School, dressing up as powerful, historical female figures for Women in Herstory month. Alison credits moments like these as ones that prepared her for life after Chapin, instilling in her the personal strength and skills she would need to pursue her dreams.
Alison feels strongly that Chapin’s overall academics were exceptional, particularly for her area of interest. She shared, “I had great mentorship from the teachers who saw I was interested in science and really supported me in excelling there.” This rang true for the whole of her time at the School for all of her interests. When asked specifically how Chapin prepared her for college and beyond, Alison emphasized that athletics played a large role; “We had such a wonderful sports department and the coaches were great cheerleaders and supporters. The lessons that I learned from playing sports were really important. [I had] this understanding of hard work and technical excellence leading to good outcomes. I think those two things, [academics and athletics], really prepared me for when I left Chapin and went to college.”
Alison always knew she wanted to be a doctor but it was a Chapin community member that helped her to realize that she wanted to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery. After graduating from Chapin, she spent the summer shadowing Dr. Tranbaugh, the father of two Chapin alumnae. Alison said of the experience, “He took me under his wing. He gave me a white coat to wear to meetings, and taught me how to look at various imaging in the hospital and, of course, took me to the operating room. And so, that experience, at 18-years-old, really completely solidified my career path to go into Cardiac surgery. I think the combination of [support] at Chapin and then having this mentorship program set up with Dr. Tranbaugh [through the school] was really life changing for me.”
Interestingly, Alison studied, and received Bachelors degrees for both Anthropology and French Literature at Johns Hopkins University. Her advanced science courses at Chapin and exposure to hospital culture through her internship allowed her the flexibility to pursue other interests in college, “I knew that I wanted to go into medicine, so when I went to Johns Hopkins — pre-med was not a major — I decided not to study biology as my major, knowing that I would get plenty [of that] throughout my college and med school.” She credits this for helping her to become a more well-rounded person and strengthening skills that aren’t necessarily emphasized in a pre-med track. Her strong writing skills in particular helped her to stand out among peers when she completed research papers during her research fellowship at NYU.
Alison is now Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and enjoying her professorship at Emory College. Reflecting on her choice of specialty she said, “At 18, I made the decision to be a cardiac surgeon, knowing that that might be an extreme decision and that maybe I should look at other areas… but I just kept coming back to that field. I think it ended up being a great fit for me. It’s a largely operative practice, very technically demanding and highly rewarding. I think that all of those things meshed with what I was looking for.” Her choice aligned with her strengths and passion — in medicine and holistically; “I do think it’s very important that when young students pick a specialty, that they look at their whole selves so they can make an informed decision.”
All this has led Alison Goldsmith to a fulfilling career. She finds it rewarding that her work has an immediate and deep impact on the lives of her patients, improving their quality of life and making it better than before the surgery. And, just like her time playing field hockey, she also loves the collaborative nature of her specialty and the teamwork that comes with such a complex medical practice. Alongside the positives, however, are the challenges. She described two areas as the most challenging, each in a vastly different way, “One, which I think Chapin prepared me for, is that only 5% of cardiac surgeons in the United States are female. That is something my colleagues and I encounter on a daily basis. I think having the foundation from Chapin that I can do anything has allowed me to navigate that and push back against any bias that there might be.”
Alison went on to share that the other major challenge is “complications or bad outcomes.” These, she said, “can be really devastating, obviously. They impact our patients' lives and it never gets easier. We carry those complications and losses with us.” To help balance the intensity of life as a cardiac surgeon, Alison prioritizes spending time with her husband and two dogs, she runs and stays physically active. This includes taking annual surfing trips, a sport picked up as an adult and loves because it is a complete change of pace from her day-to-day life. She encourages others to try new things at any age!
Finally, Alison Goldsmith offered advice for young people interested in medicine: “Start early looking into medicine and surgery in general. Start reading about it, asking if there’s a parent of one of your friends who’s a doctor and ask them about it. From there, towards the end of your time at Chapin, college or med school, start to try and volunteer or shadow. Try to get an understanding of what life in medicine is like.” She elaborated, saying, “Mentorship is so important. It’s not easy to know what life as a doctor is like, so seeking out a mentor is really important. I was fortunate to have Dr. Tranbaugh, and, in fact, to this day I see him at our national conferences.”