dining experience). We found chaos among a crowd in the parking lot and learned that the 1974 tornado had flattened a large area of the city. We spent the night observing and assisting in stitching up survivors who came through the ED. It was an alarming but exciting introduction to the upcoming clinical rotations. John worked with a family practitioner at Fleming County Hospital that summer, where his interest in pediatrics began.
We got married in the summer of 1974 and began to think about how we would mesh our careers. We wanted to do an externship during senior year at an institution with excellent Pediatric and Internal Medicine training programs. After a summer trip to visit eight different institutions, we decided on Washington University in St. Louis as our first choice and secured an externship for the fall of senior year. When Match Day 1976 finally arrived, John received his letter first. I returned to my seat, opened mine, and exclaimed with relief that we were going to St. Louis. My heart sank when he said,“ Saint Louis?” Briefly, I thought that we might spend several years of our young marriage in different parts of the country, but his quick wry grin told me that he had just played one of his infamous pranks! Everyone else in attendance thought it was pretty funny. Since by then I was used to such teasing, I quickly recovered.
During seven fulfilling years in St. Louis, John completed a pediatric internship and residency, served as chief resident in Pediatrics and then went on to a neonatal fellowship that included a year of bench research on SIDS. We were ready to return to Louisville and our families. I joined the Cardiovascular Associates, PSC and John joined the University of Louisville and the Neonatal Associates, PSC in January, 1983.
John quickly became a popular attending physician. This undoubtedly stemmed from his genuine interest in teaching and his kind and considerate manner in dealing with patients, families, and staff.( The bagels he brought for morning rounds probably didn’ t hurt, either!). In 1986, he became Director of Medical Education for the department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Program Director, a position he held for 22 years.
His passion for education grew with each succeeding year and in 1996 he became Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education for the university. From 1998 to 2013 he was, in addition, the Vice Chairman of Medical Education for the Department of Pediatrics. He is now the Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education at the School of Medicine.
His interest in education has carried him across borders. He has traveled to Romania, Moldova and Vietnam on trips to train local physicians and nurses in neonatal care.
John is a member of multiple medical organizations and has served as President of the Innominate Society( Louisville Medical Historical Society) and the Louisville Pediatric Society( now defunct). He has been a member of KMA and GLMS since 1983 and has served on multiple committees in those organizations since 1989, increasing his involvement with each passing year. Since 2012, he has been Chair of the KMA Continuing Education Committee.
His leadership in education has not gone unnoticed. In 2013, he was named to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. In 2006 he received the Excellence in Education Award at the Doctors ' Ball and in 2014, the University of Louisville Dean’ s Education Award for Excellence in Education. He has appeared on Louisville Magazine’ s list of Louisville’ s Top Docs numerous times.
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