William D. Chey, MD, FACG, AGAF
on his father William Y. Chey, MD, FACG, AGAF

It certainly wasn’t always easy growing up as the son of a highly successful physician and scientist. My father was raised in Korea during the Japanese occupation of World War II. He was a strict disciplinarian and perfectionist with a “right way” and “wrong way” to do everything, from my homework to cutting the lawn. If I didn’t get it right the first time, I did it again until I got it right. There were no cutting corners growing up in the Chey household. My brother and I still remember our one-hour haircuts, which wouldn’t necessarily seem excessive until you considered that we both had “buzz” cuts. Though it was often hard, I have no doubt that my upbringing formed the foundation of my own work ethic, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize and sacrifice to achieve an important goal.

From a young age, my father taught me the virtues of hard work and perseverance. He frequently told me that as an immigrant from Korea, he learned early on that it was often not enough to be as good as his peers, he had to be better. He taught me that to exceed, being intelligent was not enough. To maximize one’s talents, discipline and work ethic were at least as important as raw intelligence.

To this day, I marvel at the enthusiasm and dedication my father has for his patients and profession. My father was a true “triple threat” – demonstrating excellence as a physician, educator and scientist. At age 78, he still has a very busy clinical practice and even makes occasional house calls. It became clear to me at an early age that my father loved being a physician and did his best to make a difference every day.

My father was also an accomplished scientist with an NIH funded laboratory for his entire academic career. He reported many of the seminal studies addressing the physiology of pancreatic secretion. He pioneered research, which expanded our understanding of the roles of GI hormones such as CCK, secretin, and gastrin in health and disease.

I am perhaps most proud of the fact that he has never been afraid to state his opinion, even when it was not consistent with the conventional wisdom. I have always admired his ability to think “outside the box.” For example, he was one of the first to identify the rising rate of non-H. pylori, non-NSAID ulcers in the United States. He was also one of the first to report the clinical benefits of infliximab in patients with ulcerative colitis. In both circumstances, his observations were initially discounted or criticized. In both cases, he turned out to be correct. He has often told me, “Just because someone famous says something, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

As a young man, I was not introspective enough to be able to articulate the precise list of factors which drew me to a career in medicine and specifically gastroenterology. I remember being convinced that I was my own man, making my own decisions based upon my own life experiences. While the ability to integrate caring for those in need, a love of science, and need for ongoing intellectual stimulation were durable themes which guided my career choice, it is only in retrospect that I realize how much my father provided the education and opportunities which helped me to choose a career in medicine. As the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” It took a while, but I eventually figured out the virtues of taking that drink.

My father inspired me to pursue a career as a gastroenterologist in direct and indirect ways. Indirect ways included the passion and enthusiasm that was apparent whenever he spoke about being a physician and a scientist. Direct ways included shadowing him at work and incorporating me into his research laboratory as a preteen and adolescent. As a young boy, I often spent Saturdays rounding or working in my father’s animal laboratory. I don’t know of many other 12-14 year olds who were assisting in animal surgery and studying the effects of ethanol on the Migrating Motor Complex. To clarify, the study involving ethanol was done in dogs not me or my classmates.

My career in gastroenterology has been a rewarding experience. I greatly enjoy the diversity of the things I do as a clinical academician. I am primarily a doctor, and like to think that I positively impact the lives of my patients. At the same time, I take pride in continuing to make contributions as a clinical investigator. Finally, I greatly enjoy my role as an educator and mentor. There is a certain point in most teaching interactions where the person/s you are working with “gets it.” Experienced educators recognize these moments, and they provide the kind of positive reinforcement that keeps us coming back to work each day. I have particularly enjoyed serving as a mentor for a number of GI fellows and international physicians. I am clearly a much better mentor now than I was earlier in my career. It took awhile to figure out that mentoring is more about helping the mentee to achieve his or her goals than finding someone to help forward your own research agenda. Of course, the two goals are not mutually exclusive and in fact, the best mentoring relationships are symbiotic. I have also learned that a really good mentor takes at least as much pride, if not more, in their mentee’s achievements as their own.

My father’s example has taught me that understanding what makes you excited about getting up in the morning is one of the most important considerations when choosing a career. Given how much of our lives each of us spend at work, it only makes sense to pursue a career that makes you feel happy and fulfilled. I certainly feel fortunate that I come home feeling happy and fulfilled many more days than not. On behalf of myself and the countless patients and doctors whose lives my father has touched, let me conclude by saying: “Thanks Dad and Happy Father’s Day!”