Catching up with Kelly Hewitt, MD
Although I grew up on the East Coast, a love of the mountains and the promise of excellent training led me to pursue a general surgery residency at The University of Utah. I was not disappointed. I spent an amazing six years learning how to operate, engaging in research, making life-long friends, and sneaking outside for adventures whenever possible. I also had the good fortune to meet my husband, Jeff, a Utah native, and give birth to our oldest son during my fourth year of training.
After residency, I chose to join a fabulous fellow Utah alum in practice at a critical access hospital on the Oregon coast. The U prepared me well for the challenges of life as a rural surgeon, however, my passion for breast surgery and thinking about ways to reshape the way we care for patients ultimately pulled me back to academics. I chose to head back for more training and completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at UCSF. We spent a wild and wonderful year as a family of five in a tiny San Francisco apartment when COVID hit!
I am now a practicing breast surgical oncologist at Vanderbilt. In the pursuit of my academic dreams, I was somehow able to convince my husband to move farther east than he’d ever lived, and he has adjusted to orienting himself without the assistance of a mountain range. We are part of the small but mighty crew of bike commuters trying to make an impact here in Nashville and as a family, we try to get outside and into the parks and trails as much as we can. I picked up a love of long-distance running while a resident and still pursue running and cycling in my free time.
I now have three boys, Will (9), Grant (8), and Matt (5), who keep my nights and weekends crazy and fun. We’ve all adjusted to life in the South but still try to get back to Utah once a year to visit Jeff’s family and remind our boys that there is no place like the Wasatch front. I love the challenge of academic practice, the opportunity to teach residents and fellows, and the ability to pursue my passion for working on clinical trials to improve care now and in the future. I am thankful for my time in Utah and all the friends, mentors, and sponsors I was lucky enough to work with there and who have continued to support me today.
