MEMBERS
DR . Who
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT STEVE LIPSON , MD
Aaron Burch
A
common refrain among anesthesiologists is that when they do their job perfectly , the patient doesn ’ t notice them at all . Dr . Steve Lipson has practiced anesthesiology for 35 years , and it ’ s a testament to his talents that he remains inconspicuous and humble regarding his life ’ s work .
“ I grew up wanting to be a doctor because of my parents ,” Dr . Lipson recalled . “ My mom and dad always felt that was the pinnacle of success , and I was talented in science so it fit together very nicely .”
Born outside of Pittsburgh , Dr . Lipson and his family moved often during his childhood . After completing a Bachelor ’ s Degree in chemistry at the University of Cincinnati , Dr . Lipson was accepted to the UofL School of Medicine in 1974 . Although he ’ d flown through undergraduate courses and completed the degree in just three years , medical school provided his first true educational hardships .
“ I worked at JC Penney in the mall selling shoes every summer until we became junior medical students . I can remember my boss saying , ‘ Steve , if that medical school stuff doesn ’ t work out , you can come back here . You ’ ll be manager someday , and nobody sues you if the shoes don ’ t fit ,” laughed Dr . Steve Lipson . “ I can tell you there were periods in my career where I wondered if I made the right choice .”
Dr . Lipson will be the first to tell you he struggled in medical school . “ To be quite honest , I wasn ’ t used to having to work so hard ,” he laughed . “ During that struggle , a few doctors took a liking to me and mentored me . Dr . Ferd Greifenstein and Dr . Pete Conway gave me guidance and helped me get back on track . I wasn ’ t doing very much reading . One thing I learned very quickly was that to be anything in medicine , you have to read .”
Dr . Lipson was steered towards anesthesiology in two ways . The first was through the mentorship of Dr . Greifenstein , an anesthesiologist . The second was happenstance . Thanks to a shortage of anesthesiologists at Louisville General ( now University of Louisville Hospital ) during his junior year of medical school , an opportunity emerged .
“ UofL was so understaffed that they would pay medical students $ 60 a night for a 12-hour shift administering anesthesia ,” Dr . Lipson explained . “ Historically , there ’ s precedent for this , but this was strictly because they didn ’ t have enough people . Those nights gave me valuable experience with emergency C-sections and trauma anesthesia .”
One curious night making rounds as a medical student stayed with Dr . Lipson for decades . “ Louisville General was originally built as a tuberculosis hospital . In the old days , ventilation was thought to help with treatment . So , the ward is very long with windows everywhere . One night I ’ m making rounds , it must be at least 1 a . m ., and a patient jumped out of a window of the fourth floor . Only the intern I was with and I knew it had happened .”
The patient luckily didn ’ t fall four stories , instead landing on the roof of a lower story . While the intern ran to the emergency department for help , Dr . Lipson found a way onto the roof and started CPR .
“ Dr . Hiram Polk said he ’ d expect the same from any surgical resident . Well , I caught a lot of flak for that , because nobody jumps out the window after a patient . I became well-known because of that experience , and the patient made a full recovery ,” Dr . Lipson said .
As he graduated from medical student to UofL resident , the Department of Anesthesia was struggling . The chairman at the time , Dr . George Webb , asked for more money . When the school turned him down , Dr . Webb threatened to take most of the faculty into private practice . “ He said he ’ d abandon the University and , for reasons beyond my pay grade , that ’ s just what he did ,” Dr . Lipson recalled . “ Because there was virtually no faculty in the department , I had to look elsewhere . Dr . Webb wrote me a lovely letter of recommendation . Suddenly , in the middle of my intern year , I moved to study at Duke and got married in short order .”
Dr . Lipson met Cynthia Russell as a respiratory therapist . She was going to nursing school at the time , and both were assigned to Louisville General . “ I found her crying one day , because an ICU patient bit her as she attempted to draw blood . I consoled her , and we started dating soon after that . When the anesthesia residency fell apart , we married and she came with me to North Carolina in 1980 ,” he smiled .
As their next pathway opened , the Lipsons were living through a
38 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE