Wear the White Coat Reflection
by DEAN DONOHUE , MBA
Interesting . Unique . Educational . A meant to be moment and a meant to be blessing .
My first introduction to Dr . Kellen Choi , a urologist practicing at UofL Physicians , was at the matching breakfast at the Louisville Water Tower . She was very personable , knowledgeable and put my anxieties at ease about what it would be like when I shadowed her . I certainly left the Water Tower breakfast excited to do rounds with her .
Many times , when you start a new endeavor , you think you have an idea of what to expect , but in this case , it turned out to be a much more meaningful experience than I could have expected .
I joined Dr . Choi early in the morning and we hit it off from the beginning – but I would expect this to be true of her with many people . I was impressed by how trusting and open her patients were with her , but especially with me in the room . I joked afterwards , “ I saw things I ’ m not sure I needed to see and heard things I ’ m not sure I needed to hear .” It was certainly a learning experience , one where my appreciation during the day grew and made me feel thankful for physicians like Dr . Choi . There is so much to balance during the day in the life of a doctor , going from patient to patient and diagnosis to diagnosis , but Dr . Choi had a caring and loving nature with each and every patient . Her staff was also very committed and diligent with the care they provided patients , and the overall practice environment was very welcoming .
During our rounds , Dr . Choi received news that her mother had to be hospitalized in Texas and the outlook was dire . Dr . Choi was forced to balance out a rapidly changing family issue , the needs of her patients , as well as still showing me how things work , all between calls to the specialist in Texas and trying to arrange a flight out of Louisville as quickly as possible . She did a wonderful job keeping her emotions in check all the while taking outstanding care of her patients . I was so impressed with her focus , dedication and perseverance .
I was thankful to be there during this trying time as I do believe God puts you in places you need to be . I tried to be a means of encouragement to Dr . Choi . Life is not easy for many , and the amount of energy that needs to be expended to do her job at the level she does is remarkable on a normal day , but on this day it was extraordinary .
The end of the story is that thankfully , Dr . Choi was able to get back to Texas in time to see her mother before she passed . The strength of her faith and perseverance were inspiring . My time with her only added to and further renewed my respect for the medical profession . My shadow experience will be a memory I will never forget and one that I will share with others about the dedication our medical professionals add to the world . I certainly hope GLMS will continue this program because I think it benefits the health care profession in ways that cannot be totally expressed .
Dean Donohue is a Private Wealth Advisor with Encore Wealth Management Group . ( non-member )
February 2025 21