From Local Student to ER Physician: Dr. Colton Junod Comes Home

When Dr. Colton Junod walks through the doors of Good Samaritan’s Emergency Department, he isn’t just arriving for another shift. He’s coming home.

“I’m a local kid,” Dr. Junod says simply.

A Vincennes native, Dr. Junod graduated from Lincoln High School before heading to Butler University in Indianapolis. From there, he attended the IU School of Medicine and completed his specialty training through the IU Department of Emergency Medicine. His path took him to some of the busiest Level I trauma centers in downtown Indianapolis, where he trained in high-pressure environments and treated the most critical cases imaginable.

But long before medical school or residency, his connection to Good Samaritan was already taking shape.

His first role at the hospital began in 2015, when he returned home from college to work as an emergency department scribe. “After my first shift here as a scribe, I left and said, ‘I’m going to do emergency medicine,’” he recalls. “I really never looked back.”

That early exposure confirmed what would become his life’s work. Emergency medicine offered variety, intensity and purpose. “I never know what I’m going to see in a day,” Dr. Junod says. “I can take care of infants, elderly patients, deliver a baby or restart someone’s heart. It’s incredibly rewarding.”

While his training took him far from home, his heart was always drawn back to Vincennes.

“I remember reading an article about rural brain drain when I was younger, about people leaving small communities and never coming back,” he says. “I always thought, why wouldn’t I come back? I wanted to take care of my friends, neighbors and family.”

In 2024, Dr. Junod returned to Good Samaritan as an employee, initially working a few shifts a month while finishing residency. By July, he officially joined the Emergency Department full time.

Being back has only reaffirmed his decision.

“I still have moments every day where I think, ‘This is the right choice,’” he says. “I’ll see someone I know in the ER, or I’ll be at the grocery store and someone will stop me and say, ‘You took care of my cousin.’ Those little things mean a lot.”

Those meaningful connections are what set rural emergency medicine apart for him. While he occasionally misses the intensity of a large trauma center, he treasures the relationships formed in a close-knit community. “Here, those experiences are more personal,” he added. “They stick with you.”

Emergency medicine isn’t easy. Dr. Junod acknowledges the emotional weight that comes with caring for patients on their worst days. “You see tragedy. You hear things people have never told anyone else,” he says. “There’s an emotional burden that comes with that.”

What helps him through those moments is the team around him. “I feel incredibly supported here,” he says. “We have a great ER group, great colleagues and people who genuinely look out for each other. That makes the hard days manageable.”

Certain patients and moments stay with him, especially children facing serious illness or injury. “There are people and families I’ll never forget,” he says. “Those experiences remind you why you do this job. You have to be a person, not just a doctor.”

Dr. Junod’s journey has come full circle, from high school volunteer to emergency physician caring for the same community that helped shape him. For students in the area who dream of a future in medicine, his advice is simple: start early.

“I began volunteering at Good Samaritan in high school, passing out water and learning from nurses who taught me how to care for patients,” he says. “I credit those experiences for where I am today.”

Outside of the ER, Dr. Junod enjoys traveling and exploring the world, having visited six of the seven continents so far. But even with a love for adventure, his roots remain firmly planted in Vincennes.

“It feels more meaningful here,” he says. “I know this is where I’m supposed to be.”

For Good Samaritan and the community it serves, Dr. Junod’s return is more than a career milestone. It’s a story of coming home, of giving back and of caring for neighbors with skill, compassion and heart.