What you need to know about Indianapolis doctor on Jeopardy!

Many nights find Dr. Alicia Schaffer tending to Community Health North patients as a hospitalist. Thursday night will find the obstetrician/gynecologist appearing as a contestant on the Jeopardy TV show.

In a video interview released by Community Health, the Indiana University School of Medicine graduate shared that appearing on the popular game show has been "a big life goal” since she watched as a child with her parents.

Schaffer’s route to Jeopardy! began more than two years ago when she first auditioned by answering questions online and then virtually. A year ago, she learned she had made it to the pool of potential contestants.

Her favorite categories, she said, include food or culinary questions as well as languages. And presumably medical terms.

Taping itself was an “all-day process” as grueling as a 12-hour hospital shift, she said. She had her hair and makeup done and then of course there was the televised contest itself, which she described as “incredibly nerve-wracking” but “super cool.”

To her delight longtime Jeopardy! favorite Ken Jennings was on the podium for Schaffer’s appearance, although she’s also a fan of cohost Mayim Bialik.

“I was really happy it was him,” said Schaffer, a mother of two. “He’s kind of synonymous with Jeopardy! so I was excited to get to meet him.”

The hardest part wound up being the buzzer, she said. At one point she tried clicking with a little ballpoint pen“It’s mostly a game about the buzzer,” she said.

While Schaffer couldn’t share how she did, she did allow, “I did pretty well.”

And, she said, maybe the next time she’ll try another trivia show or The Chase.

Schaffer will compete on Jeopardy! on WTHR-TV (NBC) on Thursday, July 27, a news release said. Check local listings for additional information or visit Jeopardy.com.

Contact the reporter at shari.rudavsky@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What you need to know about Indianapolis doctor on Jeopardy!