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| Vol. 21, No. 17 |
| September 15, 1999 |
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Texas Children's Hospital Neonatologist Takes Motto To Heart
"As I rotated through different specialties, I first realized that children were the smallest and most vulnerable of our population and seemed to need advocates." - Dr. Charleta Guillory
Born in Opelousas, La., Dr. Guillory always knew she wanted to care for others and make a difference. "Of course, I didn't know medicine was the vehicle when I became a `convent reject' in my early years," explains the attending neonatalogist, who serves as associate director of Level II nurseries in the Texas Children's Newborn Center. "I think my medical aspirations probably started when I was in high school when I worked on a variety of science projects." Growing up in the 1960s, Dr. Guillory noticed the disparity of health care. "My commitment began because I wanted to make sure everybody - especially those in poverty - had access not just to health care but to equal, good, solid health care," she says. Dr. Guillory admits she was positively influenced by her mother, Lucille Guillory, an elementary school principal. "She took whatever talents her children had and accepted us unconditionally," she says. "She always stressed that we had a responsibility to give back to the community. Not only did she tell us; she showed us. I cannot remember a time when my mother - our matriarch - did not say that education was the way to success. Even now, she won't let me get away with saying `I can't' because those words are simply not in her vocabulary." Dr. Guillory says she, her brothers and sisters grew up with the same value - to give back - and took their mother's counsel to heart. In 1969, Dr. Guillory received her bachelor of science degree in biological sciences from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She attended graduate school, studying microbiology, and in 1974 was awarded a medical degree from Louisiana State University-New Orleans. It was during her residency at Louisiana State University Medical School and the University of Colorado Medical Center that Dr. Guillory decided to specialize in pediatrics. "As I rotated through different specialties, I first realized that children were the smallest and most vulnerable of our population and seemed to need advocates," she recalls. "They were so innocent, honest and loving. I think that's what directed me toward neonatalogy. It seemed very natural to want to speak out and help take care of people who did not have anyone to speak for them." Dr. Guillory's interest in neonatalogy was both influenced and cultivated by Dr. Joseph Butterfield, director of the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Colorado Medical Center. "I told him I wanted to enter neonatalogy in Louisiana or Texas, and he contacted Dr. Arnold Jack Rudolph, then head of neonatalogy at Texas Children's Hospital, who invited me to do a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine," she recalls. "When we met, I think Dr. Rudolph looked not at me - but into my heart - and saw me for who I really was." After completing her fellowship in 1982, Dr. Guillory was hired at Texas Children's as a staff neonatalogist by Dr. Rudolph. To date, Dr. Guillory estimates she has cared for approximately 5,000 babies - including the world's first surviving octuplets (seven of which are still living) - since her early days at the Texas Children's Newborn Center. At Baylor College of Medicine, the physician is an assistant professor of pediatrics in neonatal-perinatal medicine. Today, Dr. Guillory's job includes teaching medical students, residents and post-doctoral fellows during their neonatalogy rotations. She also coordinates the activities of the neonatal nurses within the department. Recently selected as one of the nation's six 1999-2000 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellows, Dr. Guillory will spend a year in Washington, D.C., starting in September. Established in 1973 at the Institute of Medicine with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N. J., the fellowship offers a challenge the neonatalogist is eager to tackle. After a period of orientation, Dr. Guillory will work in offices of the congressional and executive branches of government that have key responsibilities for health legislation and programs. Her whirlwind agenda will include a range of activities designed to enrich her knowledge of public policy process and to foster a better understanding of how government health and biomedical research activities relate to the mission of her home institutions and local community. "Finally, I will have an opportunity not only to take care of patients using health policy other people have developed, but to be a part of developing policy from the perspective of my practice," Dr. Guillory says. A special perk of her relocation is the opportunity to join husband Plummer Alston Jr., who works as an administrator for the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Census. Dr. Guillory is hoping her son, Yohance, a recent graduate of Hampton University, will also be on hand. Dr. Guillory, who believes in continuing education, plans to complete her master of science degree in public health through The University of Texas School of Public Health when she returns to Houston and Texas Children's. For those starting out in medicine, Dr. Guillory shares practical advice. "It's important not only to follow your dream, but to visualize that dream," she stresses. "Act on it and never give it up. Do not allow anyone to distract you from that dream. They may not know you and don't understand that unknown factor, which is your will, your perseverance." Dr. Guillory knows the drill well, having been cautioned many times against entering the field of medicine. "During the years of integration, my college pre-med advisor did his best to discourage me," she recalls. "The person who wants to go into medicine must have a burning desire to become a physician. It's important they do not allow negativity to enter the picture." What other personality traits does Dr. Guillory consider essential? Compassion tops the list. "Many times, we are not able to change the outcome of an illness, but we can be there for that patient and change the way the patient lives with illness," she says. "I tell medical students to have compassion, but be knowledgeable." Dr. Guillory feels particularly fortunate that neonatalogy presents an ideal opportunity to know the patient and the family. "I'm not just seeing these babies on a one-time basis, but daily for an average of three months," she explains. "As doctors, we don't know it all and it's important to listen to what the patient and the family are saying. I've had the parents of patients who have died call me back and ask me to take care of their next child. What a great reward!" For a doctor who wears multiple hats, it comes as no surprise that job satisfaction is three-fold. "I think the most satisfying aspect of my work is being able to get up every day and get paid for something that I love doing," Dr. Guillory says. "I also find it rewarding to influence the beginning of life - to see progress in critically ill babies that I've bonded with - come back and do well. The third aspect is being able to do what I originally started, to be a part of programs and healthcare policy that will ensure everybody has equal access to health care. By that, I mean bringing to the table not only what I do as a neonatalogist, but being culturally sensitive to the disparity of care, giving that extra dimension to patient care." - VICKI THOMSON
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmc-info@tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/09_15_99/page_10.html |
