Pursuing Medicine, Following in the Footsteps of Mom and Dad

Medicine often runs in families.

It’s not unusual for a medical student to have at least one parent who is a practicing physician, but it is worth noting when both parents are doctors and hold medical degrees from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine. In the Class of 2021, two students—Elizabeth Hellmann and Matthew Fry—each have two parents who are alumni of the college and treating patients.

Fry’s parents, Shari Matvey, MD, and Gregory Fry, MD, Class of 1987 and 1986, respectively, are both anesthesiologists at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. Hellmann’s parents are Robert Hellmann, MD, (’83) an internal medicine physician at TriHealth, while Gail Hellmann, MD, (’83), is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and supervisor in the Forensic Psychiatry Training Program at the College of Medicine.

Both Matthew Fry and Elizabeth Hellmann each say they decided upon a career in medicine on their own terms, but their paths weren’t as straightforward as one would think.

Balancing Athletics, Academics and the Call to Medicine

Matthew Fry long thought a career in medicine could be rewarding, but he needed to make sure this was the path he was truly passionate about following. He had excelled in athletics and academics at Cincinnati Summit Country Day. Standing 6-foot-6, Fry played center and was a senior leader on the 2012 men’s basketball team when it captured the Division III State Championship. 

"There was a lot of emotion around that state run, and after it was over, I found myself asking ‘now what?’” recalls Fry. "Growing up, I was lucky. I saw how much my parents loved being physicians. Going into my freshman year of college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do or where I would end up, but I knew that was the sort of passion I wanted to find in my own life.”

Fry enrolled at the University of Notre Dame where he joined the men’s rowing club. "Apparently they like tall people,” says Fry amidst laughter. "I fell in love with the sport. The workouts were brutal, but I made awesome friends, and there was nothing better than being out on the water.”

He earned a seat in the top novice boat during his freshman year, but Fry also found he was stretched thin rowing on the college team and keeping his grades up to par as a pre-med major.

"I was forced to prioritize,” says Fry. "I had to answer the question ‘how badly do I want to be a doctor?’”

During the summer, Fry got some time to put things into perspective while volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. He helped a local family construct a new home and found something more meaningful than a state title or a first-place win. A passion for helping families helped Fry focus on what mattered when he returned to Notre Dame.

Academics took center stage, but community service remained important and Fry found time to volunteer as a campus First-Aid staffer and later with an inpatient hospice house. He graduated from Notre Dame, returned to Cincinnati during a gap year and was a scribe at the Barrett Cancer Center.

"I had the privilege of working with two ocular oncologists who are now my inspiration. I saw how they not only treated cancer but how they healed their patients – regardless of the good or bad, these two doctors were there for their patients every step of the way. That’s the impact I aspire to achieve.” 

Studying Humanity and Civilization Matters, But So Does Medicine

Elizabeth Hellmann, a graduate of Ursuline Academy in Blue Ash, has always been fascinated by people, culture and history, and human connections and relationships. Early on, she was interested in anthropology as an undergraduate at Ohio State, but medicine also always remained in the background.

She did two summers of research at UC and worked in a depression research laboratory at Ohio State during the school year. At UC, she worked with a physician to review research on bariatric surgery, obesity, end stage renal disease, and transplant surgery. 

Hellmann says she had an interest in psychiatry, partially after seeing her mother’s rewarding career in the field, and from working in the depression lab at Ohio State during one school year. "We studied cognitive therapy and its effects, and looked to see if it was possible to determine patient outcome and success based on certain personality characteristics,” says Hellmann.

Hellmann has also volunteered at a cancer hospital in Columbus, spent a summer at an emergency medicine program at the University of Colorado, and worked on an archaeological dig site in Ireland as part of a study abroad program. All of the experiences were enjoyable and weighed into her decision to opt for a career in medicine.

But another consideration trumped all others. She had great role models, not only in her parents, but an older brother, Michael Hellmann, MD, who is a fellow in the UC Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

"I guess you could say medicine is sort of a family trait,” says Hellmann. "I always looked up to my parents and my brother. I saw how they impacted their patients and their community. My best friend’s grandmother has been my father’s patient for years, and they always tell me how great he is. It’s really cool to have role models like that to look up to.”

Hellmann says her parents never pressured her one way or another.

"They made it clear that I could pursue whatever career I want, and that I had to figure out what was going to make me truly happy. If it’s medicine—that’s great, if it’s anthropology—that’s great too,” says Hellmann. "It’s really nice to have their support. I knew early on that medical school is a tough road. You can’t do it because someone else says you should or because you feel like you should.  It has to be something that you are passionate about. I know I have a passion for medicine, and I look forward to getting started.”