Laughter is the best medicine

March 4, 2010 by Maria Roncal 

UNLV alumna makes medical talk comical on weekly radio show

I used to think good-looking, witty doctors only existed on TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy. Then I met Dr. Daliah Wachs.

She has a lot in common with her Hollywood counterparts. She’s glamorous, funny and loves to entertain. Every Saturday she hosts her own radio show, The Dr. Daliah Show -– Medical Talk Radio – on 720 AM KDWN in Las Vegas.

But what sets her apart from doctors on TV (besides actually going to medical school) is her genuineness. Her show material is all her own, no scripts or writers penning her jokes. Her blonde, tousled hair exudes an image that’s inviting, not intimidating. And when she talks about saving lives, delivering children and helping people live healthy lives, it’s not just for show – it’s her passion.

There’s no business like…medicine?

Born in Los Angeles then brought up in Arizona, Wachs spent her senior year in Las Vegas at Clark High School. Growing up, Wachs always knew she wanted to become a doctor, but she also wanted to have a career in show business.

“I come from a very modest family. My mom was in radio, my grandfather was in radio. There’s no money in radio, so we had no money for college,” Wachs said.

So when UNLV offered Wachs a full-ride scholarship for scoring a 1450 on the SAT, her mother urged her to be the first person in her family to attend college. Though Wachs was competing in the Catch a Rising Star competition at the time, she chose medicine over music.

While studying biology at UNLV, Wachs lived in the Tonopah dorms for her first two years before getting her own apartment. She worked her way through college and med school, working at the Jack in the Box on Maryland Parkway and waiting tables.

In between school and work, Wachs was involved on campus with the Jewish Student Association and the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I really miss UNLV,” Wachs said. “Some of my best years, best memories are there. I love the Rebels.”

Dr. Joshua Saxe, a local pediatric dentist, is a friend, colleague and former UNLV classmate of Wachs.

He said, “As a student, I remember her as very energetic and never scared to ask a question or search for the right answer.”

Dr. Saxe is glad their friendship has lasted beyond college.

“It’s nice that we went to school together. Our community was good to us,” adding that UNLV had both awarded them full-ride scholarships. “And we want to be good to our community, and that’s part of the reason we’re back in Nevada to practice medicine.

One of Wachs’ most memorable moments on campus was getting to stand next to former-President Clinton. Before he became president, he came to campus to speak.

“I remember the whole campus of people. I was wondering around behind beam hall with my EPA badge on, and I remember walking up just a couple feet from Clinton and waving hello.”

Wachs graduated cum laude from UNLV’s Honors College in 1993 and then moved on to medical school in Reno. She spent her last year of medical school in Los Angeles, married chiropractor Corey Wachs and and graduated in 1997. Upon completing a three-year residency at an ER in Lake Havasu, the couple opened up their own family medicine clinic in 2000.

Doctor’s orders: Time management

Among her marriage, her two young sons, patients and her radio show, Wachs lives a full and busy life. She said she’s able to balance everything because of the skills she learned in medical school. “Med school taught me a lot about time management,” Wachs said. Between patients she stays abreast of current events, checks e-mails from her listeners and generates material for her show.

“You have to multi-task,” Wachs said. “If you let things pile up, you won’t get them done.”

Every day, she gets up at 5:30 a.m. to work out, starts work by 7 a.m., opens the clinic at 8 a.m. and sees her patients until she closes the clinic at 6 p.m.

“The evenings are my family time,” Wachs said. The Wachs have always had a good method of caring for and spending time with their children.

“I knew I couldn’t be a stay at home mom and still pay the bills and student loans, so in medical school me and my husband figured out how we were going to do the kid thing.”

When the Wachs first opened their clinic, they had another room just for the baby. Now that her children have grown up, her husband picks them up from school and brings them to the clinic before they all head home for the evening.

No need to “toot” her own horn

When her patients started losing their jobs and coming to the clinic less, Wachs started getting calls at all hours of the night asking for her medical advice.

As a service to her patients, a method of maintaining work-life balance and a way to merge her love for medicine with her love of entertainment, Wachs started doing a weekly radio show, complemented with YouTube videos and podcasts.

“The best thing about Dr. Wachs is her honesty,” said friend and colleague Dr. Shaposhnikov, a gastrointerologist in the Valley.

“Her patients love her for her straightforward approach to medicine and she’s fun to be around,” he said.

Dr. Shaposhnikov used the Russian word “molodets” to describe Wachs. “It means a good person, a good achiever, like the Russian hockey team in the Olympics.”

Having just achieved over a year on the air, her Wachs’ show is now syndicated in Phoenix and is set to air on an Alaskan cruise in June.

On the show, she discusses everyday topics like diabetes, women’s health, children, geriatrics, relationships and government policies.

Wachs said the show is more serious than not, but always fuses a bit of humor and entertainment.

“No one wants to go to the doctor. I think it’s because a lot of doctors don’t have a sense of humor. It’s ok to have a sense of humor,” Wachs said.

“Let’s say someone’s in the doctor’s office and they fart – well, then I’ll do a show on farts. You need to, or you’re going to get constipated. Make an excuse, say you need check your phone in your car, just do it,” she said.

“If you’ve got the loot, toot.”

The idea of the show is to offer comforting, entertaining medical advice that demonstrates that going to the doctor is something not to be afraid of.

“If people don’t look at medicine as fun, they’ll stop going. They’ll end up being uncomfortable and deny themselves the need to go. I don’t push my own practice. What I’m all about is making people feel comfortable.”