My eldest child, Kelly (a regular reader of this blog), has been bugging me since I started it, asking, “when are you gonna write a column about ME?” For a long time I put her off by pointing out that this is my professional blog, not personal. Well, since I recently wrote about BOTH of her brothers, I clearly can’t use that excuse any more. So to keep peace in the family 🙂 I will write today’s post about her.
This is Kelly Smith Gibson. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, she attended med school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She married a wonderful young man from Seattle in December 2007 in a ceremony that took place in the Basilica at the Notre Dame campus, which is where they met.
Today, she and Paul live nearby and Kelly is a first-year resident in an OB/Gyn program that is run jointly by Metro General Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic. She delivers babies. Lots of babies. A lot of the babies she delivers are born to moms in high-risk pregnancy situations, like those who are very young, very old, and those who have diabetes or other complicating health conditions. Metro boasts one of the finest high-risk pregnancy units in the country, and I know that Kelly is very proud to be a part of the team there.
Not all is a bed of roses for Kelly. Students who graduate from Med School in the United States carry a huge debt load. I get nosebleeds just thinking about how much money she owes in student loans. Residents work 80-90 hours a week – including a LOT of nights and 24-hour weekend shifts — for not a lot of money. And she has to study constantly – huge big textbooks and journals and new research into exciting topics like female cancers and rates of morbidity for high-risk pregnancies, and so on. And hubby Paul just got laid off from his job last week as an Actuarial Analyst for a consulting firm. And the liability insurance premiums for Obstetricians is a scary number – OB’s have to deliver a ton of babies each year just to pay for their insurance.
AND she and Paul are a very happy and engaging couple whom my wife and feel blessed to count as our friends.
So, Kelly, this is your blog post. Now the whole world (of my subscribers, anyway) know what a great person you are and how proud I am of you and your accomplishments.
Can we be done, now?
And NO, I’m not writing a post about your dog. 🙂
Something for your daugher . . .
Unlike many moms my age (I was 37 & 39, respectively for each delivery) I purposely worked with residents, for both of my pregnancies. Why did I do that?
1) The resident would deliver my baby, which meant I didn’t have to worry about having a doctor who I didn’t know well be the one to help Tom and I through this process.
2) Since each resident has an experienced physican looking over their shoulder, I would have the benefit of two OBs. And as an older Mom, that’s a good thing to have.
3) Frankly, I wanted a doctor who would listen closely, not be arrogant, and who would understand that was *my* prepancy and delivery that I *choose* to let them be a part of. Yes, it’s all about me and my baby *grin.*
4) I really like working with energetic and curious learning professionals. Because I do my own research, and ask lots of questions the conversations tend to be a learning experience for both parties, and I like that.
5) And how did I pick my resident, if there was more than one at my doctors offices? I asked the nurses in a private conversation. Doctors who work well with their nurses, are often excellent with their patients. (I got this tip from a dear friend who is a physican in Seattle.)
Andrea, I love your observations about the process. Indeed, residents are still in learning mode, and I think Kelly is certainly focused on building relationships with her patients. I’ll make sure she takes a look at your comments — esp the part about the Nurses knowing what’s really going on…. Thanks for sharing! J