When Dr. Chris Bailey’s friends and colleagues sought to honor him, they thought about his career as a cardiologist and how he might want to be remembered. The answer seemed obvious: In addition to being an exceptional physician, he was a mentor and an educator who cared deeply about training the next generation of heart specialists.
Fittingly, an endowed fellowship was established in his name to ensure IU School of Medicine would continue to be home to a world-class cardiology training program. The fund supports physicians like Julie Clary, MD, the inaugural John C. Bailey Cardiology Fellow.
Peng-Sheng Chen, MD, chief of the Krannert Institute of Cardiology and the Medtronic Zipes Professor of Cardiology, notes that the cost of preparing young physicians continues to increase. Endowed fellowships ensure IU School of Medicine has the resources to train enough specialists in each field and to provide those trainees with the broad range of opportunities necessary to excel in their careers.
“Many of our fellows ultimately choose to practice in Indiana, so gifts to establish endowed fellowships benefit people in every part of the state,” Chen said.
Clary is the perfect example. After completing her fellowship training, she joined the faculty of IU School of Medicine. In addition to improving the lives of her patients, she hopes to mentor future cardiologists, just as Bailey and others did for her.
“I don’t know how anyone would want to do anything else,” she said of being a cardiologist. “When you connect with patients, when they realize you understand them, when you alleviate some of their fear and you’re able to help them, that’s when you realize you’re doing something good.”