Dr. Rachel Sturdivant is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology. Dr. Sturdivant graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School and was inducted into the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. She initiated her residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed both her residency and her nephrology fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina.Since joining the nephrology faculty in 2003, Dr. Sturdivant has focused her time on the care and education of patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. She has served as the medical director of the nephrology anemia clinic since 2003, as the associate program director of the nephrology fellowship program (2003 to 2009) and medical director of the inpatient dialysis unit (2013-2017). She enjoys teaching the future generation of physicians and has been nominated for the Golden Apple Teaching Excellence Award and Teacher of the Month Award several times by her medical students. The nephrology fellows chose her as Best Junior Faculty Teacher in 2006. In 2009 she received the prestigious Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, whose membership advocates compassion in medicine. In 2016, she pursued a coaching certificate in leadership from Georgetown University, which has expanded her ability to counsel patients clearly about their healthcare goals. She maintains a busy clinical practice and prefers to focus on the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease, transitioning patients to dialysis or transplant, and helping patients design their healthcare for the future.