A Trailblazer's Path is Rarely a Straight Line - Kathern Plenge, MD

Dr. Kathey Plenge couldn’t have predicted how her life would take shape. However, looking back, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Physician, neurologist, trailblazer, mother, master docent, leader, philanthropist, survivor and the first woman president of the Maricopa County Medical Society (MCMS), her self-described “circuitous route” stands as a testament to the power of seizing every opportunity—as well as making a few of your own—and following where passion and curiosity lead you.

 

A JOURNEY OF OPPORTUNITY

Born on a little farm in Tennessee, the youngest of 8 children, Kathern Plenge, MD, had never heard of a woman doctor. In college, she began by studying home economics—skills she had developed growing up. But as she followed her interests and expanded her curriculum, adding courses in science, language and liberal arts, Plenge found many of her classes included the same classmates—boys preparing for medical school.

 

It didn’t take her long to realize: “I’m taking all the same courses they are, maybe I can be a doctor too,” she said. At the time, women made up only 1-2% of medical school students. Plenge recalls a skeptical academic counselor who called her goal to apply “rather ridiculous.”

 

She was accepted to the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and loved every minute of it. “It was just fascinating,” she said. “I loved it from the very beginning.” Dr. Plenge accepted a pediatric residency in Tennessee. However, because she graduated in December rather than June, and because she is not the type to let the grass grow under her feet, she took a job as an ER physician at a community hospital in Florida for six months until her residency began. And here her life took another turn.

 

“That’s where I met my husband, and that, of course, changed my life,” she said.

 

She gave up the residency and stayed on at the community hospital for two years, then moved to Virginia while she was expecting her first child.

 

Staying home for the months of her pregnancy and childbirth was a challenge for Dr. Plenge, who said she had never in her life gone so long without working. So, when her daughter’s pediatrician told her of a job opening during a three-month check-up, she leapt at the chance.

 

She worked in the county health department and pediatric practice, and when her husband accepted a job in Phoenix, Arizona, Plenge didn’t waste any time—she called up the local public health department and said, I’m here, and I’m ready to work!

 

Working part-time allowed her to also be at home with her two young children. When she decided she was ready to specialize, she approached several colleagues and program directors and arranged opportunities for part-time work or job shadowing to explore the available programs.

 

Neurology captured her attention—she described it as both fascinating and terrifying— and she applied for and was accepted to the Barrow Neurological Institute residency program.

 

She described the transition from professional medicine back to academics as a steep learning curve, and not one she would necessarily recommend. But the experience that she had gained gave her a wealth of information, and she thoroughly enjoyed neurology. So much so that she stayed with Barrow until she retired in 2001.

 

“Barrow was a wonderful training program,” she said. “I felt very lucky that I could do a residency there.”