DR. WHO?
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT JANE CORNETT, MD
Aaron Burch
Dr. Jane Cornett stays off Facebook. Her practice hasn’ t needed a website in the seven years since its inception. But, a life away from the internet doesn’ t mean a doctor stays away from her patients. As a palliative care and internal medicine physician, Dr. Cornett’ s presence needs only to be felt in person by families seeking end-of-life care and guidance.
“ To be effective as a palliative care physician, you just need regular, sometimes daily, coversations. Things can change rapidly. Patients and families need to have an up-to-date understanding of what is taking place,” said Dr. Cornett.
The progression to her current career as a palliative care specialist was a natural one for Dr. Cornett. Growing up as Jane Brooks in Louisville, Dr. Cornett knew from an early age that medicine was her calling. The daughter of Les and Janet Brooks, and middle child between two brothers, she grew up in Hikes Point and graduated from Central High School in the late 1970s.
“ I was always good at school, though I was shy. My biggest struggle was learning to speak for myself. I could always do well on tests, but having to speak up or state an opinion was a struggle. It wasn’ t until I worked for the Air Force, years later, that I learned how to get around that.”
When she wasn’ t studying or spending time with family, the soon-to-be Dr. Cornett read novels, often science fiction and fantasy. She also loved film and worked at Showcase Cinemas during her high school years.
After high school, Dr. Cornett pursued her education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The jump from attending Louisville public school to the esteemed facility was not lost on her.“ That was a wonderful opportunity,” Dr. Cornett recalled.“ I tell people that I learned to read and write at Vanderbilt- to really, critically read and write. That was a huge change for me.”
After Vanderbilt, Dr. Cornett returned to Louisville to attend medical school. In an effort to stay as out of debt as humanly possible, she participated in a US Air Force Scholarship, attending six weeks of courses before medical school at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Her commitment would then pick up after residency where she spent a month at the Randolph Air Force Base in Texas before being stationed in Louisiana.
“ Both trainings were very positive experiences,” said Dr. Cornett.“ I learned how to dress and behave as an officer. I learned protocol and chain of command. There was also a fitnesss component but it wasn’ t bad.”
During her first year of medical school, Dr. Cornett met her future husband, Denver Cornett. They shared a unit lab and were soon dating before marrying in 1990. For her internship, Dr. Cornett pursued Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. The couple then moved to Louisiana to complete her residency with the US Air Force.
“ Back in those days, women weren’ t in the armed forces as much. The Air Force was probably the one most accepting of women. That was how I chose that particular branch. It’ s funny, the day I began active duty was the day Kuwait was invaded,” Dr. Cornett recalled.“ Fortunately, they left one physician behind on base, and that was me. I was lucky.”
While working in Louisiana at the former England Air Force( continued on page 30)
Editor’ s Note: Welcome to Louisville Medicine’ s member spotlight section, Dr. Who? In the interest of simply getting to know each other as a society of colleagues, we’ ll be highlighting random GLMS physicians on a regular basis. If you would like to recommend any GLMS physician member to the Editorial Board for this section, please e-mail aaron. burch @ glms. org or call him at 736-6338.
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