DR . WHO
DR . WHO
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT DR . LAUREN BRILEY
AUTHOR Kathryn Vance
Dr . Lauren Briley can still remember career day at her elementary school when students had to dress up and act out their ideal future jobs . She didn ’ t know any doctors who could provide her “ props ” for her presentation , so she instead went with a nurse , as she could get those props from a family friend . Even though she did the presentation as a nurse , there was never any question in her mind--she wanted to be a doctor .
Dr . Briley was born and raised in Louisville and after a short stint in Lexington to complete her undergraduate education at the University of Kentucky , she came home to pursue her schoolgirl dream : medical school . Not only did she know that the University of Louisville had a great program with excellent leadership , but she also wanted to be close to her family and then-boyfriend Jeremy . He ’ s another Louisville native she ’ s known since high school , but started dating after their undergrad roommates began to go out together .
“ The program director when I was there was fantastic so there was no reason to leave ,” she said . “ I felt like I ’ d get a great education and there were a lot of female role models in the medicine department who were doing all the things I was hoping to do : have a busy career and a family , a balance . I felt like I had a lot that I could learn from them .”
She married Jeremy , a sales consultant here in Louisville , during medical school , and after graduating in 2004 , she was planning to start a family in the next few years . The couple knew they wanted to raise their family in their home town and were happy she matched in internal medicine here at UofL .
She was named Chief Medical Resident , so she did a fourth year where she had junior faculty responsibilities such as teaching and covering wards . She and the other Chief rotated between the university hospital and the VA that year . As a resident , she helped with two research projects that focused her interest on GI as her medical specialty . Working with Dr . John Wo , a motility specialist , and Dr . Kristine Krueger , Professor of Medicine and Chief of Academic and Clinical Affairs for the UofL Division of Gastroenterology , Hepatology and Nutrition , nourished her fascination with gastroenterology .
“ This subspecialty involves multiple different organ systems . I wanted to do some type of procedures , but I didn ’ t necessarily want to be a surgeon where that was all that I did ,” she said . “ GI is a good mix of procedural work , patient care and outpatient care . It ’ s the best of both worlds .”
During that final year as Chief Resident , she was able to get a clear picture of what she wanted her life to look like after training : would it be the academic setting , or private practice ?
“ In the academic setting , I missed seeing patients myself so much . When you ’ re teaching , you see more of the problem patients . You don ’ t get to have the relationship with the patient and have that rapport with them like you do when it ’ s your patient , and you ’ re the primary caregiver . I missed that so much ,” she said . “ It became very clear to me in the end of that year , that I had to have hands on patient care with my own patients . That was the thing that made me the happiest and probably the reason why I do this at all .”
When it came time to decide where to complete her gastroenterology fellowship , it was a no brainer . The school that had done so much of her foundational training was a natural fit for her final chapter . She was already enmeshed in the program , through rotations and research . Having their son Jackson made it even more important to stay in Louisville . She knew that here at home , she could depend on the female leadership that was so important to her .
“ It was a great program , I had a really great shot of getting in , and it ’ s super competitive ,” she said . “ The female mentors and leaders were so important , as well . It ’ s huge as a female . You can ’ t
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