In this feature, medical student, June Criscione GRD '21, interviews Dr. Leo Cooney, the Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. She asks him three questions: one about scholarship, one about faith and one about leisure
JC: As a medical student trying to decide on a specialty area, I am always curious about physicians’ career paths. How did you end up working in Geriatrics?
LC: During my Internal Medicine residency at Boston City Hospital, I cared for many elderly patients and participated in a unique program in which nurses followed patients of the hospital’s outpatient clinic, all who lived in nursing homes. These experiences sparked my interest in geriatrics and I later jumped at the opportunity to lead a new “Continuing Care Unit” for elderly patients at Yale. In recognizing the paucity of geriatric medical education in the U.S., I made teaching a key part of this unit, which now serves as a rotation site for both medical students and residents. I got involved in teaching because I saw a problem. I was fortunate to recruit great people to the Yale Geriatrics program.
JC: Working in medicine can be emotionally and physically challenging. What things have helped you avoid burn-out?
LC: Family is the first thing that comes to mind. I’m very lucky: I have two sons and four grandchildren and will celebrate my fiftieth wedding anniversary this year. I also have a strong network of friends in New Haven, since my family first came to Connecticut forty-three years ago. My friend network extends to STM where I have been part of the same Small Church Community for over ten years. STM has been a wonderful source of spiritual guidance and friendship. I couldn’t imagine any place as good.
JC: How has your faith impacted your career and day-to-day work?
LC: I often participate in goals of care discussions with aging patients and their families. Although I do not let my personal beliefs influence these conversations, I find that having a moral compass makes it easier to talk about values with patients, and, provides fortitude for what are often difficult discussions. My faith is the core of who I am— what I find important in my life. Father Bob used to talk all the time about life outside the church, not just on Sunday. I have always thought of medicine as a vocation not an occupation. I do find spiritual moments in my work, though. Caring for patients and their family members can be “prayer time.”
Dr. Leo M. Cooney Jr., the Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, is a long-time member of STM and an influential figure in the field of geriatrics for over forty years. Among many accomplishments, he established the Yale Geriatrics program at Yale and previously served as the President of the American Geriatrics Society.
