But in junior high, he became interested in math and did well in this conceptual subject and in science. Then a high school teacher got him hooked on biology. Chole applied to medical school on a whim while working on a biology degree at the University of California, Berkeley. He was accepted at the University of Southern California in 1965 and left Berkeley after his junior year, without finishing a bachelor's degree. He entered medical school unsure if he should have gone into research instead, but in the end he found fulfillment becoming an ear surgeon and a hearing disease researcher, both fields that took advantage of his knack for handling hands-on, conceptual tasks.
Ear surgery is kind of a creative surgery that is mechanical and reconstructive.
Before Chole specialized in otolaryngology, he undertook a year-long internship at the Los Angeles County Hospital and learned that the high tension and strong personalities of trauma surgery weren't for him. He also spent two years in private family practice, where he developed his skills as a physician. In 1972, Chole and his family moved to Minneapolis so he could undertake an otolaryngology fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He also renewed his science interest, obtaining a Ph.D. by performing research between medical rotations. Five years later, the Choles headed back to California, where he would spend the next 21 years in the Department of Otolaryngology at the UC-Davis medical school.