Dr. James Altizer was born to practice medicine. From the time he was a child he knew he would never do anything else. Graduating from Davidson College and entering the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond in 1981 was the beginning of a dream come true. After Richmond he traveled to Augusta, GA to complete a 3 year internship and residency in Internal Medicine.

To pay back his naval scholarship to medical school Dr. Altizer entered the US Navy and worked as an Internist at the Navy hospital in Beaufort, SC and as teaching faculty at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA. He also served in the first Gulf War during Desert Storm and received a total of 5 decorations prior to leaving the US Navy in 1992.