( continued from page 31 ) insistent that she was not moving to Louisville .
“ He was indeed a very inspirational and visionary person and not only was the program looking to grow , but they were looking for a med-peds person who could develop transition programs to ease the angst of that time period when kids are becoming adults , when autonomy is really developing . For example , they know how to give their medication , but maybe not how to talk to the pharmacy about refills or navigate insurance . It can be a really scary time for both the patients and their parents , so they were looking for someone to develop a program specifically for patients with Type 1 diabetes who are beginning that transition process . They also had the opportunity for me to participate in the pediatric and adolescent gender education program , providing comprehensive gender-affirming health care to kids who have diverse gender identities . Then I talked to the division chief in adult endocrinology , and he said the same thing , that I could do all of the things I was wanting to do like the transition program , see general endocrine and diabetes patients and see transgender patients .”
The conversations were great , and the opportunity seemed amazing , but she just couldn ’ t bring herself to move here and started interviewing elsewhere . Finding that nowhere else offered the same chance to focus on what she was passionate about , she went through a formal interview and in August 2017 , joined us here in Louisville .
“ I sincerely loved the energy and the passion and the opportunities that would be available . Now that I ’ m here , I can ’ t believe that I didn ’ t want to come ,” she laughed . “ I love what I do , I love the ability to craft my career in a way that is in line with what I ’ m passionate about and I love the people I work with . Louisville is such a cool city that I had no idea about before I came . It ’ s my favorite out of all the places I ’ ve lived .”
When she started , she was about 50 / 50 between the adult and pediatric divisions at the University of Louisville . Over time , Norton Healthcare became integrated with the UofL Department of Pediatrics and her clinical pediatric care transferred to Norton , while she retained her academic and clinical adult care with UofL . Balancing the two – with different EMRs and internal processes – became difficult and in 2020 she shifted her adult clinical care to Norton but retained her role with UofL as Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics .
Currently , one day a week is focused on academics while the rest of the week is split between pediatric and adult endocrine care . On the academic side , she sees patients both inpatient and outpatient at the hospital with medical students , residents and fellows . She also presents lectures and educational sessions for them on a variety of topics such as growth , diabetes and thyroid disorders .
“ On the clinical side , I care for children with all sorts of different endocrine conditions : diabetes Type 1 and Type 2 and other more rare forms of diabetes , patients with thyroid , adrenal gland or pituitary disorders , kids who have slow or accelerated growth , and those with delayed or early puberty . Because of Senate Bill 150 , we ’ re not able to see people under the age of 18 for gender-affirming hormone therapy but we do see some young adults who are 18 or over within the context of our pediatric and adolescent gender education program . On the adult endocrine side , I ’ m seeing patients with similar conditions , and I am legally allowed to provide gender-affirming hormone therapy .”
About a quarter of Dr . Folsom ’ s practice is centered around gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender individuals . Providing this care is important to her , and her passion can be traced back to a specific patient in fellowship .
“ I remember so distinctly my very first transgender patient . When I walked into the room , this person that I had never met – they didn ’ t know me – but they trusted me with their story , and they told me from beginning to end how they had first discovered that their gender identity didn ’ t match the sex assigned at birth . How every time they looked in the mirror , the person looking back at them was someone they didn ’ t recognize . They so desperately wanted to be able to do something to make their body more in line with who they had always been on the inside . Hearing someone tell this story to me , such a personal experience from someone I ’ ve never met before , was incredibly impactful ,” she said . “ When we think about medicine , so much of the time we ’ re treating disease or symptoms , we ’ re not actively improving someone ’ s quality of life , we ’ re just temporizing symptoms . But in this situation , being able to be part of someone ’ s journey toward becoming who they had always wanted to be was such an honor . When that person came back after starting hormone therapy , their whole persona changed ,
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