Primary Care & Internal Medicine
Ashenafi Waktola, MD
Ashenafi Waktola, MD — Internal Medicine
Dr. Ashenafi Waktola is a board-certified internist in downtown Silver Spring, MD, with more than 35 years of experience in adult medicine. A native Ethiopian physician who speaks English and Amharic, he has long been a familiar primary-care doctor for Silver Spring’s large Ethiopian community.
Background and training
Dr. Waktola earned his medical degree from the Addis Ababa University Faculty of Medicine in Ethiopia and has practiced internal medicine for more than three decades. His long tenure in the Fenton Street corridor has made him a trusted first call for adult patients across the community.
Why patients choose Dr. Waktola
Beyond his experience, Dr. Waktola’s Amharic fluency lets Ethiopian patients discuss their health directly, without an interpreter — a meaningful difference when talking through chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. He is known for a steady, unhurried approach to primary care.
Practice focus
General adult internal medicine, including preventive care, annual physicals, and the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
Languages and access
Dr. Waktola speaks English and Amharic, accepts new patients, and participates in major insurance plans including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Cigna. Confirm coverage and availability with the office before booking.
Profile last fact-checked July 13, 2026. Information reflects publicly available sources and may change. Confirm details directly with the practice before booking.
How Dr. Waktola compares
Context from the 139 providers we track across Bethesda and Montgomery County.
1 of 2 offering high blood pressure
2 of the 130 providers who list their focus areas name high blood pressure.
1 of 8 Amharic-speaking doctors
8 of the 139 providers in our registry (6%) practise in Amharic, across 5 specialties.
Trained in Ethiopia
7 of the 107 doctors whose medical school we record trained in Ethiopia. 24 trained outside the United States altogether.
Medical school: Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences — Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. How we build this list.
Where Dr. Waktola sits by experience
Dr. Waktola finished medical school in 1990, 36 years ago. Of the 135 providers in our registry whose graduation year we could verify, 32 finished earlier and 102 finished later.
1965–69
1 provider finished 1965–19691970–74
2 providers finished 1970–19741975–79
4 providers finished 1975–19791980–84
13 providers finished 1980–19841985–89
12 providers finished 1985–1989Dr. Waktola1990
1990–94
14 providers finished 1990–19941995–99
27 providers finished 1995–19992000–04
20 providers finished 2000–20042005–09
19 providers finished 2005–20092010–14
17 providers finished 2010–20142015–19
4 providers finished 2015–20192020–24
2 providers finished 2020–2024Among the 110 physicians we list, 29 finished medical school earlier — the median for that group is 1998.
All 12 bands
| Graduated | Providers |
|---|---|
| 1965–1969 | 1 |
| 1970–1974 | 2 |
| 1975–1979 | 4 |
| 1980–1984 | 13 |
| 1985–1989 | 12 |
| 1990–1994 — Dr. Waktola | 14 |
| 1995–1999 | 27 |
| 2000–2004 | 20 |
| 2005–2009 | 19 |
| 2010–2014 | 17 |
| 2015–2019 | 4 |
| 2020–2024 | 2 |
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. Based on the 135 of 139 profiles with a graduation year we could verify against a primary source; the remaining 4 are left out rather than estimated. How we build this list.
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