Meet Dr. Joel W. Steelman

Joel W. Steelman, M.D. grew up a military brat on the move every three to four years to a new home in a different state. Nevertheless, his family roots remained in Texas where he finished high school and attended Texas A&M University both for his undergraduate and medical degrees.

During his second year of medical school, Dr. Steelman realized he had a passion for caring for children. He joined the U.S. Air Force while in medical school and worked as a general pediatrician for four years after completing his pediatric residency. His work with diabetic children, as well as encouragement from endocrine mentors, sparked his decision to leave the military and pursue endocrine subspecialty training.

He trained in pediatric endocrinology at the University of Colorado Children's Hospital, where the magnificent setting turned Dr. Steelman into a lifelong outdoor sport enthusiast, with a strong desire to lead a healthy life. He regularly returns to the West with family and enjoys hiking, skiing, and mountain biking.

While in Colorado, Dr. Steelman developed an interest in care and research in the area of bone disorders, and he began to treat children with osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease - a rare, crippling malady. After completing his endocrinology training, He left the West to enter academic medicine at Vanderbilt Children's hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, continuing his work in patient care, teaching, and research.

The desire to be closer to family brought Dr. Steelman back home to Texas in 2008 to Cook Children's. The growth in the endocrine team has allowed him to expand his emphasis in care of special pediatric endocrine populations in subspecialty clinics including the endocrine bone health clinic, endocrine cancer survivor clinic, growth clinic, and Life After Cancer program.

Outside of Cook Children's, Dr. Steelman is involved in pediatric endocrine advocacy and education. He serves on the board of directors for the non-profit organizations Human Growth Foundation and PESTOLA. He regularly speaks and organizes educational programs on behalf of these organizations.

Dr. Steelman is married and enjoys spending time with family, especially spending time outdoors.

Dr. Steelman is an incredible endocrinologist. He needs to be recognized by so many people because of all the work that he does above and beyond for the kids, as well as his nursing staff. – Patient family

Services

  • Adrenal gland disorders
  • Adolescent medicine
  • Pediatric bone health care
  • Growth and puberty diagnosis
  • Thyroid diagnosis

Reviews

Average rating:

4.8
Questions were addressed
4.8
4.8 (86)
Provider explained things clearly
4.8
4.8 (87)
Likelihood of recommending this provider
4.8
4.8 (87)
Trust/confidence in physicians
4.8
4.8 (86)

What our families say

  • November 22, 2025

    Everyone's always very patient kind and willing to help

  • November 11, 2025

    Dr Steelman is always so interactive with [...]. She gets so excited to come to Cook Childrens. He makes sure we understand everything discussed before we leave the appointment. We are grateful for Dr Steelman and his team for taking the best care of our daughter.

  • November 06, 2025

    Dr Steelman has been working with [...] related to this issue for over 5 years. Always top notch care provided by him and his staff.

  • October 07, 2025

    Everyone was nice and friendly.

  • August 09, 2025

    Dr. Steelman was an ultimate professional

  • August 09, 2025

    Dr Steelman was as usual very caring and listened to my concerns. Because of my daughter's health issues some doctors can be standoffish but not Dr Steelman. He is hands on and takes the time to check my daughter thoroughly.

  • July 27, 2025

    Everything was great!

  • July 27, 2025

    Everyone was amazing and super friendly as always!

  • July 10, 2025

    Thankful for Providing care for my child so patiently answering all our questions.

  • July 05, 2025

    Very good experience..

  • July 03, 2025

    Dr. Steelman is such a great care provider for our little girl, he answers all the questions professionally and easy to talk to when giving recommendations for our little [...]. We love everybody here.

  • June 18, 2025

    This was our first visit to the specialist's office. The quality of patient care and pride of staff was outstanding from the time we checked in to our walk out. My toddler (patient) was on the verge of melting down after arrival, and I had no idea how the blood draw would go. The professionalism embodied by everyone we saw helped both her and I calm down. On our way home, my daughter told me "doctor's office is SO much fun" and "want to see doctor's office friends later." So - I guess we'll have to come back?

  • June 18, 2025

    The doctor does a wonderful job making sure my son is part of the decisions about his treatment and that he knows what is going on and why. He affords him privacy and respects his body autonomy.

  • June 10, 2025

    Dr. Steelman is amazing and so kind to [...]. His Nurse [...] made us feel so comfortable, welcomed and informed of our upcoming appointments.

  • June 07, 2025

    He's always there for the kids very nice kind man

  • June 07, 2025

    Dr Steelman,he's a very nice and kind man and he's always giving 100% to my boys

  • June 07, 2025

    It was great we were in he took his time checked them all out and everything was great

  • May 28, 2025

    Dr Steelman and [...] were amazing, and the front desk ladies are always so kind

  • May 21, 2025

    The nurses, doctor, check in staff, phlebotomist and X-ray technician were all very pleasant and so sweet with [...]

  • May 21, 2025

    Very impressed. We came from a hospital we called home for 10 years so we had high bars set. Cooks cleared those with ease!

  • May 10, 2025

    Dr steelman is wonderful!

  • April 29, 2025

    They are amazing, they do so well with my son and care for all of his needs. Hes scared of the blood pressure cuff and the nurse got him to do it without crying!

  • April 12, 2025

    The staff here have excellent communication and really show they care.

  • April 12, 2025

    Dr Stellman and his RN were great.

  • April 04, 2025

    Dr Steelman was amazing. He listened to all my concerns, handled my many questions gracefully, and went over everything including risks in good detail. Would absolutely recommend him to others

  • March 07, 2025

    It went very well for me

  • March 05, 2025

    The front desk staff was welcoming and efficient in checking us in.

  • February 26, 2025

    Very good

  • February 08, 2025

    Everyone was very friendly and helped us feel very comfortable.

  • February 08, 2025

    Dr Steelman is great

  • February 03, 2025

    Dr Steelman very profesional and supportive

  • January 22, 2025

    The pharmacist was very helpful with her medication updates. Dr Steelman was very thorough. The wait time was long.

  • January 09, 2025

    The front desk receptionist and nurses were sweet and amazing and were so good with our kids. They made the appointment fun and enjoyable for them!

  • December 31, 2024

    Great

  • December 28, 2024

    Dr Steelman is always so kind and answers any questions we have. We really appreciate him.

Education

  • Medical school:
  • Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX
  • Residency:
  • Keesler USAF Medical Center, Biloxi, MS
  • Board certifications:
  • General Pediatrics
  • Pediatric Endocrinology

Affiliations

  • Human Growth Foundation,PESTOLA,Cook Children's Physician Network

Recognitions

  • Top Doctor (360 West Magazine)

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