Board Certified, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Shoemaker has been a Board Certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist since 1989. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Alabama, where he was a collegiate swimmer, earned his medical doctorate from Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and completed his residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He chose Ob/Gyn in part because it was the only specialty that allowed him to both do surgery and develop lasting patient care relationships.
Dr. Shoemaker spent ten years in a large group practice in Corpus Christi, TX, but never felt it was a good fit for his patient care philosophy. Fate intervened when he and his wife, Claudia, visited friends who had relocated to Fairhope and concluded it was an ideal community to raise a family. He left the large group practice and in February of 1998 opened an independent practice here. This move allowed him to treat patients in the more personal way he prefers – listening to problems, not just cataloging symptoms, and getting to know them.
Dr. Shoemaker pioneered minimally invasive surgery in the Eastern Shore area. His expertise in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries led him to become proficient in the latest breakthrough in minimally invasive surgical options, DaVinci robotic surgery. Dr. Shoemaker’s surgical expertise led to his selection as a preceptor for the Minerva Surgical endometrial ablation technique, the Coloplast Atlis Single Incision Sling for treating female urinary incontinence, and the Coloplast Axis Dermis and Suspend Fascia Lata biologic tissue option for repairing pelvic organ prolapse.
Although he found obstetrics to be an incredibly rewarding aspect of his career, Dr. Shoemaker’s surgical expertise, as well as his decades of experience treating patients with a wide variety of women’s health issues, led him to the decision in 2019 to focus on gynecology and urogynecology. He is a member of the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS).
When he’s not caring for his patients, Dr. Shoemaker spends time with his wife, Claudia, and his two children, Stewart and Mary Katherine. He enjoys golf and traveling with his wife, and he has completed two medical missions to Africa. He wants to one day be remembered as a physician who treated each of his patients like family, spending as much time with them as necessary to address their concerns, and making each of them the center of his attention.