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Elizabeth Williams encouraged by response to ‘E Talks with Docs’ series

By Bailey Johnson

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Elizabeth Williams #52 of the Atlanta Dream goes to the basket against the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on September 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Elizabeth Williams #52 of the Atlanta Dream goes to the basket against the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on September 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Williams starts Instagram Live series to interview doctors during pandemic.

Elizabeth Williams has always been interested in medicine.

While playing at Duke, Williams was a psychology major and on the pre-medicine track. Her father is a doctor and her mother is a nurse, so she’s always had a passion for the medical field.

So, when the coronavirus pandemic hit and the Atlanta Dream forward was trying to figure out non-basketball content for her social media, the answer was simple.

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“I was talking to my agent about just different content during quarantine because, obviously, without us playing that’s a huge percentage of our content, and so we were just talking about things I’m interested in,” Williams said. “Obviously, medicine is something I’ve been interested in for a really long time, and then with COVID going on, I thought it would be really cool, because people always have so many questions, to have different doctors to kinda answer questions and just talk to. Now it’s this (Instagram) Live series.”

The series, entitled E Talks with Docs — E is Williams’ longtime nickname — kicked off on April 30, and Williams plans to continue it weekly for as long as she can. The first week was a conversation with Dr. Sarah Cutter, an anesthesiologist in Boston and last week, Williams chatted with Seattle Children’s Hospital pediatrics resident Dr. Valentine Esposito.

“People have submitted really good questions,” Williams said. “(Last week), the doctor I spoke with, she’s a pediatrics resident, so not all the questions were about COVID. Some of them were just about being a parent and the mental health of kids during COVID, because they’re not able to play with their friends and be in school.

“It’s been cool because I’ve had a bit of a variety, and I think the talks have gone well.”

Through two weeks of the series, Williams has been encouraged by the response from people who are looking to help the medical workers in their area as they continue the fight against COVID-19.

“It’s been cool to hear how — because everybody’s been so appreciative of healthcare workers, the positive effect that it’s had on everyone,” Williams said. “Also, at the same time, I think some people are trying to help but don’t really know how.”

Lots of people have been sending food to hospitals, and Williams learned in her conversation with Cutter that the doctors don’t really need food at this point — they need things like extra socks and, of course, personal protective equipment.

Williams says she’s learned a lot through her two conversations so far, and she hopes to continue to speak with doctors that aren’t specifically working on the frontlines of COVID-19 so she can continue to expand the reach of the series. So far, she’s found guests through mutual friends, and Williams plans to reach out to friends in medical school to see if their professors would be willing to speak in the coming weeks.

“There’s so many people in the medical community,” Williams said. “I feel like it won’t be hard to find other doctors that would be willing to share what they’re going through.”

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