Gennie Kocourek: A New MD at Age 53

Match Day typically is filled with tension and anxiety for soon-to-be graduates as they learn where they will serve their residencies and begin their careers as doctors.

 

At the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), the auditorium is normally jammed with nervous Med 4s who are mostly in their mid- to late 20s. But Match Day 2008 featured one excited participant who was nearly twice that age.

 

"Don't give up on your dreams," said 53-year-old Gennie Kocourek, as she strode to the microphone and announced her residency assignment. Two months later, as a proud graduate, she finally fulfulled her decades-old aspiration of becoming a doctor.

 

According to American Association of Medical Colleges statistics, Kocourek is a rarity. Since 1991, an average of only 12 students age 50 or older have graduated from U.S. medical schools each year. That puts Kocourek in a group that makes up less than one-tenth of one percent of the 16,000 students who graduate from medical school annually.

 

After never giving up on her decades-long dream of becoming a doctor, Gennie Kocourek graduated with pride in 2008.

So, what took her so long?

 

Kocourek says she actually wanted to get into medicine after graduating from high school in Milwaukee. But a career counselor told her that medicine was too hard for women and that she should consider nursing or social work instead.

 

"I was interested in making a difference in people's lives, but it was not common then for women to enter medical school," she says. "It was just a sign of the times."

 

Kocourek studied criminal justice for three years because the coursework taught her some medical skills. But her heart was never in it, and eventually she accepted an offer for a position that would occupy better than 20 years of her life.

 

As an information technology administrator for Milwaukee County, Kocourek supervised a staff of more than 100 people and had day-to-day contact with powerful governmental officials. Although the job provided a sizable paycheck, Kocourek felt a lack of contentment. She continually asked herself if she was satisfied with her life and the path she had chosen.

 

In April 2000, a wilderness medicine course changed everything. The 10-day event, which included rock climbing, one of her favorite hobbies, rekindled her life-long dream of going into medicine.

 

After receiving encouragement from friends and her husband, Terry, she started evening pre-med courses at Marquette University while continuing her demanding full-time job. Yet she asked for no favors or special treatment from her instructors when it came to classroom assignments and laboratory projects.

 

"My professors were fabulous, but I didn't ask them to cut me any slack, and none was given," she says. "It was very important for me to do all the work that was expected."

 

After finishing her studies at age 50, Kocourek thought her chances of getting into the SMPH looked slim as she sat on a waiting list for several months. Deciding to move forward, she accepted an offer from a medical school in Chicago and found an apartment in the city. The day before signing a lease, she learned that the SMPH had an opening, which she gladly accepted. Then reality set in.

 

"I sat on the couch and this complete wave of fear came over me," she says. "I said ‘Oh, my God, what have I done?'"

 

Husband Terry, who used to serve as Milwaukee County's budget director, helped her find an apartment in Madison. While Kocourek studied on campus, he lived in their Muskego home with her 81-year-old mother.

"My husband was behind me 150 percent," Kocourek says. "My mother was also great. She took care of the cooking and shopping and made sure Terry was getting his green veggies."

 

The couple would see each other on weekends; sometimes Terry would visit her in Madison, other times she would return home to Muskego.

 

Kocourek says her fellow classmates treated her well during her first year of medical school, even though she was as old as some of their parents. But a heavy load of classes and long hours of studying and laboratory work took their toll on her emotionally and physically.

 

"I was homesick and lonely," she says.

 

Her salvation came with the medical school rock band called the Arrythmias, in which she was one of the lead singers. Performing as a musician gave her an escape from the stress of studying.

 

"It taught me to laugh and smile," she says.

 

The stress relief from the band helped Kocourek get through her first two years of medical school. In her third year, she started doing more learning outside the classroom.

 

"It was very enjoyable," she says. "I was learning in a clinical setting and meeting a number of people and doctors. It was always difficult for me to sit in lecture halls."

Her fourth year, in Kocourek's words, was "heaven."

 

"I was taking electives and felt like I knew so much more than I did at the beginning," she says. "I also had a general idea of how to get things done. It was fun interacting with doctors, patients and other students."

 

She worked in four-week rotations at different Milwaukee hospitals, and decided to pursue a residency in family medicine after graduation.

 

"I thought it was the right fit for my personality," she says.

 

Last summer, Kocourek started her residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Waukesha Family Practice residency, about 25 minutes from her home. Things are going well.

 

"At first, it was scary because now the buck stops with me," she says. "I need to be wise when making decisions involving patients. But it's always neat when I look at my badge and it says I'm a doctor."

 

Adds Kocourek, "All the patients have been nice to me. Some have asked about starting my residency at an older age. I tell them I'm not a young kid, but I am the new kid on the block."

 

Kocourek says her husband has enjoyed being part of her new life.

 

"He gets a big kick out of it," she says. "He is a very steady person, and has never felt threatened because he is now married to a doctor."

 

With medical school finally completed and her dreams fulfilled, does Kocourek regret not getting into medicine at an earlier age?

 

"I don't think about it," she says. "It's not a good use of my energy."

 

by Mike Klawitter
This article appears in the winter 2009 issue of Quarterly. 

Date Published: 02/16/2009