Turn Your Head and Cough: The Story of a Urologist

By Katie Weber

"If there was one word that could describe your job, what would it be?”

“Amazing.”

Dr. John B. Maggioncalda is a urologist at Lehigh Valley Hospital and a private practice in Allentown, Pennsylvania. John loves his job and his procedures have helped save many people. Being a doctor was his life’s dream and he has shared it with me. Now I will tell you his story.

John has a wife, three children, a dog and two cats. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, reading and attending his children’s sporting events. He also enjoys visiting close family and friends.

Dr. Maggioncalda has wanted to be a doctor since he was about 3 or 4 years old. As a teenager, John volunteered at the hospital that he lived near. Cleaning bed trays, sweeping floors and making the patients happy might not be the greatest job as a teenager, but John was willing to do it.

While in college, he decided to become a urologist. After graduating the Philadelphia Thomas Jefferson Medical College, John went straight into work. His surgical specialty is operating on organs such as the kidney and the bladder. “Also known as the pee-pee doctor,” chuckled John. “I’ve had this job for seven years and I really enjoy it.”

Being a doctor is a great job, so you wouldn’t think that anyone would want to stop him, right? “I think that my grandfather actually wanted me to be a tailor,” stated John with a shrug. “I’ve just always wanted to be a doctor.”

When asked about what it is like to be a doctor, John gave a mix of positive and negative points. “The paperwork! Even though the paperwork doesn’t keep me from my job, it makes it a bit more challenging.” When asked what really does keep John from doing his job, he stated that, “sometimes old people throw stuff at him.” After this little chuckle, John’s face became quite serious. “Sadly, sometimes it is hard to do surgery on someone because they are very sick.”

Even though his job is quite challenging, John absolutely loves it. Every day, John does something that he has always wanted to do. “It requires intelligence.” But most importantly, he explained that he gets to make people feel better. “I really enjoy talking to the patients. Doing whatever it takes to make them feel comfortable and happy.”

John’s dream came true and he has been working at it for seven years. In between his already-busy schedule, he makes time for family and friends. John has been an absolute joy to talk to and I enjoyed learning about his job. Thanks Dr. Magic!

Woburn Patch will run all six top features, in the order in which Joyce Middle School teacher Kathryn Materazzo, who started the project last year, provided them to us.

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