A lifetime of practice: Memphis doctors celebrate half-century of healing
Dr. David Usdan and Dr. Vance Shappley have worked at Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis since it opened. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
From classmates to roommates to hospital colleagues for half a century, two Memphis doctors have shared a lifetime of career milestones.
Urologist Dr. Vance Shappley, 82, and ophthalmologist Dr. David Usdan, 83, both grew up in Memphis and worked at their family businesses.
Usdan lived in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood and helped out at his father’s optometry practice.
David Usdan as a boy. Usdan is 83 now. (Courtesy David Usdan)
“I was the gofer, and Saturday was my day to help out,” he said.
Shappley grew up in Orange Mound and worked at his father’s grocery market on Lamar Avenue.
“My brother and I were forced to work in the grocery store seven days a week, and it did not take long before both of us realized we needed to be doing something else,” he said.
That “something else” was medicine for Shappley, who noticed his friend’s father, a doctor at the VA Hospital, had weekends off.
Shappley earned his undergraduate degree in health science from the University of Memphis. He then pursued his medical education at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine.
It was there that Shappley met Usdan, a fellow Memphis alumnus with his sights set on becoming a doctor. They were roommates for two years while receiving their medical education and gaining hands-on clinical experience.
Topics
Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis Subscriber Only Dr. Vance Shappley Dr. David UsdanAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.