( continued from page 29 ) and disease and how bodily things go wrong . In pathology , you can see and touch the disease . It isn ’ t a moving target . Instead , it ’ s a lot of pattern recognition and putting puzzles together , which I loved .”
Dr . Coventry graduated from Rutgers in 1989 with her specialty in mind , but many miles still to go before her career was set . Luckily , she wouldn ’ t travel alone . She met her husband while studying at college and they balanced their careers ably , moving to Chicago so Dr . Coventry could attend residency and he could pursue grad school .
“ When I was in medical school , my husband was working in New York City and I was studying . We never saw each other ,” she said . “ We had a lot more fun in Chicago , living in Hyde Park . It was more manageable and more affordable than the New York area . Plus , I was focusing on something I really enjoyed .”
While working through four years of residency at the University of Chicago , Dr . Coventry came to realize her interests lay , in part , in developmental pathology .
“ I had practiced a lot of kidney pathology and really enjoyed it . But I also wanted to look for a program to pursue developmental and pediatric pathology . When I was finishing up my anatomical pathology rotation , I didn ’ t feel like I ’ d gotten much of that . I figured while I was young and didn ’ t have a lot of responsibilities , that was the time to learn what I really wanted to learn .”
Following what she loved led Dr . Coventry to a fellowship at Brown University-Rhode Island Hospital . She spent just a year at the facility before pursuing a developmental / environmental toxicology research position in Seattle , in part to be with her husband who had been offered a job in Puget Sound . “ I was invited to study environmental teratogens and their effects on hamsters . We found it was very easy for us to find places to go while we were in training . It was only once we got out of training that it was tough .”
When both their positions were complete , the couple moved to Philadelphia where they would take the next steps in their careers and welcome both children to the world . Dr . Coventry began practicing at St . Christopher ’ s Hospital but received a job offer from Kosair Children ’ s Hospital Chief Pathologist Dr . John Buchino shortly after she arrived . She turned him down . After all , they had just arrived in Philadelphia .
“ So three years go by , and there ’ s a lot going on . Actually practicing was a great experience , but the hospital system went bankrupt while I was there . It seemed that all we were doing was going to meetings about this crisis and people were leaving in droves . So everyone is deserting the sinking ship and then I remember John Buchino .
“ Right as I send him an email asking if he was looking for a pathologist , my phone rang . It was him asking if I was looking for a job . I asked if he had just seen my email , and he said ‘ What email ?’ It was just perfect timing .”
After just a few years in Philadelphia , and quick moves through Seattle , Rhode Island and Chicago , Dr . Coventry and her family , now doubled in size , came to Louisville and made their home .
“ I love Louisville . It was a really good place to bring up our kids . There ’ s not 12 of everything like Chicago but there is one or two of everything . It ’ s always been manageable and friendly .”
Now both children , Lila and Lucas , have headed to college .
In her free time , Dr . Coventry reads whenever she can and is also an author herself . She wrote a historical novel , The Queen ’ s Daughter , about the life of a daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine , of Southwestern France in the late 12 th century , and saw it published in 2010 .
30 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
“ I love history , particularly medieval history , and that was really a rewarding process . I ’ ve started a new novel , but it ' s a slow process .” she said .
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