Dustin Ward, MD
Dustin Ward, MD grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota. He was Valedictorian at St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN, with a degree in Chemistry and BioPhysics. After completing undergraduate education, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska where he received his medical degree from Creighton University Medical School in 2007. He subsequently completed his residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He spent the next year as an attending Anesthesiologist at the University of Nebraska as part of the regional anesthesia team.
Dr. Ward served in the U.S. Navy for a total of 9 years as an Anesthesiologist. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for 3 years, and he completed his service at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia. He also spent time in San Diego, California and Newport, Rhode Island. After leaving the Navy, he then went on to complete his fellowship in Interventional Pain Management at the University of California, Davis where he specialized in advanced interventional pain procedures and ultrasound techniques.
Dr. Ward is board certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and became a medical partner at iSpine Clinics in 2021.
“I started to become interested in pain management while serving in the US Navy in Japan. The Naval Hospital was responsible for over 120,000 foreign deployed Americans and their dependents. Typically, our patients would need procedures completed by traveling state-side (CONUS) from Japan. We started to offer more chronic pain services in Okinawa to help our service men and women while saving time and tax-payer money. After my honorable discharge as a Lieutenant Commander from the USN, I decided to complete a fellowship in advanced pain procedures and chronic pain management.
I am honored to be a chronic pain physician where I can develop great relationships with my patients, help their functionality, and improve their quality of life. I believe the role of interventional pain management is significant. When patients can decrease or eliminate medications and their side effects, it can significantly increase their quality of life.
To the best of my ability, I help explain to my patients why they are in pain and the options they have available to them. When someone suffers from chronic pain, it can be a very frustrating and complicated journey. When going over the available treatment options, I go over the benefits, including success rates, while also going over all the potential side effects. Together, we can determine the best course to take.” – Dr. Dustin Ward
Dr. Ward is married to Christina Ward, who is a practicing Internal Medicine physician for North Memorial. They have five children Naomi, Chloe, Blaise, Calder, and Wyatt. He enjoys coaching their Basketball teams, playing board games, and telling ‘Dad Jokes.’ He also enjoys home improvement projects, water sports, downhill skiing, and movies.