WEAR THE WHITE COAT
ASHLEY CASSETTY’S Wear the White Coat
Testimonial
Ashley Cassetty
“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” - John Keats
J
ohn Keats may have been exploring poetic realism, but I
find this quote to summarize entirely my experience in the
Greater Louisville Medical Society’s Wear the White Coat
Experience (WWC). There’s a reason why this program is in
its eighth year. WWC annually matches community leaders
with leading physicians to allow non-medical professionals to don
a white coat and see the daily life of a physician from the inside. It’s
“The Real Docs of Jefferson County,” and it brings equal parts of
medical television drama and reality television, only you’re getting
to experience it firsthand and without a camera adding 10 pounds.
As the new Director of the GLMS Foundation, I was honored to
be chosen as one of 20 local leaders (including legislators, business
leaders and media figures), to learn more about health care. This
experience provided an entirely new perspective for me on the daily
challenges of being a physician. After being paired with GLMS
Board Member Patricia Purcell, MD, a physician at East Louisville
Pediatrics (ELP), I attended a Pre-Op Breakfast that allowed all the
participants a chance to meet their mentor. Mayor Greg Fischer was
there; it was immediately obvious that this experience had gotten
high marks from the city and all those involved.
As a mother, I’m not new to a pediatric waiting room. I wasn’t
even new to Dr. Purcell’s waiting room – my 7-year-old daughter
has been a patient at ELP since birth. My experience with pediatrics
had been one of both apprehension (Is my child normal? Am I
doing everything right as a parent?) and relief (She’s healthy! She’s
hitting her milestones!). Visiting the doctor’s office meant logistics
in scheduling and transportation, hoping I showed up with all the
applicable documentation, waiting in the waiting room, waiting in
a patient room, preliminaries with a nurse, then my time with the
doctor. If I was lucky, shots wouldn’t be needed, and I’d leave the
office with a happy child. What you miss as a parent is all the hustle
and bustle and staff support that makes that experience happen.
From the front to the back office, Dr. Purcell and the staff at ELP
provide incredible care to a multitude of patients each day.
the patient is both child and parent – gets the care they need, no
matter their income, background, ethnicity, race or age.
Dr. Purcell never sits down; she is constantly on the move,
talking to a nurse, listening to parents, consulting on the phone,
typing notes, then repeating the sequence again. In one room, she
may have a well visit, the next a broken bone, and in another the
heartbreaking sniffles of a sick infant. And that’s only 30 minutes of
her day! By the end of my day wearing the white coat, I was mentally
and physically exhausted. I literally don’t know how she does it.
Why she does it? It’s obvious that Dr. Purcell loves her patients.
The most discerning observation I had at the end of the day was how
much compassion and caring she has for each child and adult she
encounters. The bond between her and each of her patients was one
of genuine concern, and that extended to the entire family of each
child. You could see the trust that every family had in her – from
the hugs and smiles, their willingness to allow me in the room, to
how they received her diagnosis and advice.
Of all the leadership networking events I’ve attended in Louis-
ville (and there have been many), this by far was one of the best I’ve
participated in: not just because it was applicable to my field, but
because it changed how I view health care beyond my own personal
and professional experiences.
“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” Short of at-
tending medical school, this remarkable experience gave us an
eye-opening look at health care. It provided the other participants
and I with a comprehensive respect for both physicians and their
support staff. It made me appreciate the value of the time I spend
with a physician, both in and out of an exam room. I am incredibly
honored to have seen first-hand the continuity of life within our
community from the perspective of a physician, and hope others
continue to have the opportunity to participate in this program for
years to come.
Ashley Cassetty is the Director of the Greater Louisville Medical Society
Foundation.
Most shocking for me was the sheer volume of patients being
treated daily at ELP. I can’t tell you how many I saw while shadowing
Dr. Purcell. What I can tell you is that there is an elaborate symphony
of parts moving behind the scenes, and multiple patient rooms are
in play at every given moment. The communication between the
staff is what holds it all together as the office continually transitions,
allowing each patient to get the care they need. Each patient – and
JANUARY 2019
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