Under the Microscope: Dr. Brenda Townes
Under the Microscope: Dr. Brenda Townes
- July 16th, 2010By Catherine Hill
An inspiration to many who know her (including Seneca High School chum, journalist Diane Sawyer) Brenda Townes started down the long road toward making her lifelong dream a reality when she enrolled in U of L Medical School at age 40.
Up to that time, she had enjoyed a full and satisfying run as a wife, mother, teacher, realtor, runner, gardener and Masters Degree candidate - yet the dream still called.
Returning to med school in mid-life presented plenty of challenges. Technology had totally changed in the 16 years since she been in college. As Brenda says, she was still using a slide rule when she graduated from college, but by the time she entered medical school, everyone had a scientific calculator. “I was in awe of that possession (now even a little obsolete).”
There were difficult sacrifices to be made at home as well. As daughter Courtney said, “We all went to medical school.” Husband Wave, a lawyer, assumed the role of “room father” at school, and he sometimes took the children on spring break trips without Brenda when she had unavoidable commitments at the hospital. As she says, “I wasn’t the center of the family anymore. . . What made it possible is that my husband never made me feel guilty, and supported me 100%. ”
About the same time she returned to medical school, Brenda participated in her first marathon. As she says, “I’m not a great runner, but I love running. I had completed about eight mini-marathons, but a marathon was something I thought I could never do.” While she had not trained for the full 26-mile distance, she completed the marathon at a much faster pace than she had ever attained in training. “That taught me a lot,” she says.
In fact, Brenda says that running is a HUGE part of the whole endeavor to become a doctor and to continue practicing long hours. She runs five to six miles, seven days a week, usually at 4:00 a.m. “This is as much a meditative experience as it is athletic. This gives me time to allow original ideas to come to my mind, to think about difficult diagnoses, to make agendas for the day and to prioritize my life. Most importantly, it gives me energy and peace of mind. . . and I think it also gives some credibility when I recommend exercise to my patients.”
Since making her mid-life career change, Brenda has been happily engaged in the practice of internal medicine, currently with Baptist Medical Associates. As she says, “The most rewarding thing about being a doctor is the incredible relationships you have with your patients over many years. I feel so honored by each and every patient who trusts the all-important matter of their health with me.”
And while her path to a medical career may have taken more twists and turns than most, she is grateful that she was able to do it this way. “I think women are lucky. We sometimes have the advantage of having ‘seasons’ in our life. I am glad that I had the opportunity to be at home with our children during their early years. I am also glad that I wasn’t the primary “breadwinner” at the point that I decided to go to medical school, and that I had the support to do it. My advice to others contemplating a mid-life career change is: ‘follow your passion’”.
