Long before Dr. Jeff Grill was leading a team of pediatric hospitalists, residents and nurses through family-centered rounds at Norton Children’ s, he was learning what it meant to depend on the people around him. Sometimes, that meant being hundreds of feet underwater. Dr. Grill’ s path to medicine was anything but conventional
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ing homes, watching her care for patients and talking with older adults.
His father, meanwhile, worked as a salesman, traveling frequently but making sure he was there for his children. He coached baseball and took care of his three sons, giving Dr. Grill two important examples of hard work and responsibility.
He grew up in Pittsburgh but spent most of his formative years
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. A fascination with submarines eventually led him to the U. S. |
in Cincinnati. He attended Xavier University for undergrad and the |
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Navy, where he earned a scholarship to medical school and later trained |
University of Cincinnati for medical school. |
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in undersea medicine. The experiences were demanding, but they gave | ||
him something he would carry with him long after he traded his uniform for a white coat. They taught him how to be part of a team. |
At first, he wasn’ t sure being a physician was his destination. He knew he wanted to work in healthcare and considered becoming a pharmacist.
Then came the Navy. Just before college, he had been hospitalized for
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“ The U. S. military is exceptional at building a team,” he said.“ They |
about a week following a car accident. While recovering, someone gave |
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can build a team out of almost nothing.” |
him Tom Clancy’ s The Hunt for Red October. The book introduced him |
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For him, that lesson has become one of the foundations of his career |
to submarines, and he quickly became fascinated. So, when a letter from |
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in medicine. He learned early that no matter how capable one person |
the Navy arrived while he was in college, he paid attention. |
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might be, success depends on people trusting one another, knowing |
“ I called them and asked if I got into the Navy if I could ride on a |
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their roles and understanding that everyone is responsible for getting |
submarine,” he said. |
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the team across the finish line. | ||
The answer was yes, through the Navy’ s undersea medicine program. | ||
“ You have to look out for your teammates no matter what,” he said. |
He was hooked. |
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“ You all get across the finish line, or nobody does.” | ||
After medical school graduation, he completed his internship at | ||
That philosophy has followed him from the Navy to pediatric |
Naval Regional Hospital and Medical Center in San Diego and applied |
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residency, from hospital leadership to the bedside. |
to the undersea medicine program. The training was intense. He spent |
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His first exposure to medicine came through his mother, a registered |
approximately six months learning submarine medicine and radiation |
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nurse who worked in geriatrics. As a child, he spent many hours in nurs- |
health before heading to Navy Dive School, where he became a certified |
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE |
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