DR . WHO
( continued from page 35 ) ICU at what was then known as Jewish Hospital in 2013 . She now serves as the Chief of Critical Care in the Department of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery as well as Medical Director of the CVICU at UofL Health - Jewish Hospital . She stopped doing operative anesthesia , and now focuses all her time on the CVICU and building the program and culture .
“ The idea was that we would have an intensivist-led multidisciplinary team in the CVICU that would be a more closed-model ICU . We ’ d have an intensivist there and available 24 / 7 and try to build a culture where we had a group of physicians , nurses , providers and surgeons that we worked with every day . It ’ s a small , closely-knit group that has a lot of experience together and a lot of trust with each other , which helps us with communication and allows us to take better care of our patients . By doing that , we could build a culture , team and protocols that improved the care that patients received .”
She is also an Assistant Professor with the University of Louisville , training residents at the bedside . The fast pace and ever-changing nature of the ICU can be stressful but being able to bring a sense of calm and leadership over the team is what propels her forward . The most beautiful moments can sometimes come out of that chaos .
“ I think the best moments are when you figure something out that made the patient better and that if you hadn ’ t been there , there might have been a different outcome ,” she said . “ And it doesn ’ t matter how the patient got better , just that they got better . It could be dumb luck , or one of my trainees that had an idea that I didn ’ t , and I was humble enough to take their good suggestion and put it into action . When people are getting better , that ’ s the magic .”
While her life is not abundant with free time outside the hospital walls , she still makes sure to find time to enjoy the things she loves most . She can often be found exercising , from jump rope , to boxing , to swimming , to running . Her favorite exercise , though , is dance . One day when Dexter said he didn ’ t want to be enrolled in dance anymore , Dr . Guillory realized she was jealous and joined back in on a hobby she ’ d had since childhood . Like so many , she ’ d had to give up her favorite hobbies once medical school rotations began , but five years ago , she picked it back up and has been a part of a dance company in town .
“ The feeling of connection to music and the world is something that I can only get with dance . I feel very lucky that I have a community of people that will accept me as I am . It ’ s a great way to take any emotion and make it positive .”
When she looks at what medicine and her life will look like years from now , she has one simple , selfless wish : “ I want to help medicine be what it should be , which of course , is always changing . I want to help make medicine in our small community such that it will be strong without me .” Kathryn Vance is the Communication Specialist at the Greater Louisville Medical Society .
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