Membership Spotlight

Janet Jones, M.D.
In Pursuit of Lifelong Learning
by Joyce St.Clair (Mrs. Harvey R. St.Clair)

Dr. Janet Jones, a Lexington, KY psychiatrist, was asked to answer questions, through the internet and e-mail, relating to her personal background and medical school training. More importantly, Dr. Jones was invited to tell our readers her specific interests in the practice of psychiatry and how those interests happened to develop over time. Below is her narrative which I believe you will enjoy! J.S.

I was born in Whitesburg, Kentucky, in Letcher County, a southeastern rural community. My childhood was very rich in family love and support for education. I am the first of three children; my brother is a dentist and my sister works with the Kentucky Office of Economic Development. I attended the University of Kentucky and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, where I also completed Psychiatry residency and Child Fellowship. I initially majored in Chemical Engineering in college, but met strong bias against women in engineering. I was then guided into medicine by the college counseling service. I entered medical school with interest in Radiology, only to become fascinated by the behavioral sciences in medical school training. This had been neglected in my undergraduate courses and the integration of the biopsychosocial model intrigued me.

Pediatrics also interested me, but I decided to pursue Psychiatry as the first postgraduate pursuit. I have continued in my lifelong learning about the integration of mind, body, soul and medicine. I now have come full circle and realize I am still in chemical engineering, but at a much deeper level than I ever imagined. The biological, cellular and intracelluar and genetic basis of disease have deepened our understanding of human behavior. I have been fortunate to have many medical mentors that include professors (Robert Aug) as well as colleagues (Ed Maxwell, Leah Dickstein, Catherine Martin) and patients.

My interest in medicine has been continually expanded by professional experiences, and personal or family medical problems. I became intrigued with Tourette Disorder after my daughters' misdiagnosis. I had been introduced to Sleep Medicine through family and personal experiences. My decision to pursue certification in Sleep Medicine began several years ago. It was a challenge to study and integrate pulmonology, neurology and cardiology basics. When reviewing brain pathways and neurotransmitters involved in sleep, I was grateful to find some names I recognized, i.e. serotonin and dopamine. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING again. I was fortunate to have a wonderful study partner, Dr. Anna Ivaneko.
Happily, I received the American Board of Sleep Medicine certification this spring. I am practicing Sleep Medicine both at Sleep Disorders Center of Lexington and Saint Joseph East Sleep Clinic. I am trying to deliver services to adults and children who have been underserved (especially those with psychiatric diagnosis) in integrating sleep medicine into their medical care. There are many myths about sleep disorders- you have to be an obese adult male to have obstructive sleep apnea, if you have depression, your sleep cannot be expected to be refreshing, all children sleep well, teenagers will get the sleep they need, etc. We have much to learn about sleep, but we have knowledge at the present that is not known even in the medical community nor behaviorally practiced by our patients or ourselves

I married my high school beau, have two beautiful and challenging daughters. I enjoy time with family, friends, traveling, reading, gardening, computers and now working on picture scrapbooks or "memory cataloging." In addition, I have started to have home trunk shows of clothing in expanded size ranges, recognizing the diversity of the human body. This opportunity to meet with women of all ages, shapes and sizes outside of medical practice has been rewarding. Psychiatry has provided me a challenging career with many opportunities to pursue interests and practice lifelong learning.

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