First in state: Why kids' new intensive care unit doctor is a big deal

When Taylor Gennaro Allen, M.D., starts work in the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital this weekend, she will become the first pediatric intensive care unit fellow in her home state. 

“I'm really proud to be from South Carolina. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to give back to the community, not just locally but hopefully the whole state,” Allen said.

 

Fellows like Allen are doctors who have finished their residencies but want more training in specialty areas – in her case, critical care for children. She can now get that at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Allen’s program director, Rustin Meister, M.D., said it’s important to offer that next-level educational option. “By building that fellowship, it's our way to provide a good education for the next generation of critical care attendings coming through. And I think not having one in the state of South Carolina prior to this kind of highlights its need in and of itself.”

MUSC already offers fellowships in dozens of specialties. Meister said adding pediatric critical care to the list is part of a broader effort to fill gaps in training programs. 

In her new role, Allen will take care of patients, learn from experienced colleagues and conduct research during her fellowship. Meister called her a perfect fit for the critical care program’s launch. 

“In a world where we have a lot of AI-generated help, if I asked Chat GPT to make the first PICU fellow for our program, I don't think it would've done as good as Taylor is,” he said with a laugh. “She has a unique sense of confidence in herself but brings such a humble, warm attitude to any room that she walks into. And that combination is very hard to find.”

 

Hard to find – but an important asset in the pediatric intensive care unit, or PICU. Allen called it a challenging environment. “You see trauma surgery patients. You see neurosurgery patients. We take care of burn patients. So I get to see a little bit of everything. And I get to be really hands-on and do procedures, but I also get to be part of a team that makes a lot of kids better. So it's really gratifying.”

She also likes the challenge of meeting the needs of kids of all ages. “Every age group is different. Kids are not just little adults. They're very different – infants and toddlers compared to older kids, for example.”

But her favorite aspect of taking care of kids is their resilience. “I think a lot of pediatric physicians would say the same thing. Kids can go through a lot, and it's hard to see that happen to them. But a lot of times, they really do better than you would think they can. They've got a lot of neuroplasticity, so their brains can heal a little bit better than adult brains can. So that's really cool.” 

Allen comes to MUSC from the Atrium Health-Carolinas Medical Center, Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte. She brings with her a husband and a daughter who turns 2 in a few months, along with an understanding of family life – and the reality that some days can change everything for both patients and parents. 

“I can understand what they're going through. In the PICU, it's hard because a lot of times, that is kind of the worst day of people's lives. Even if their child ultimately ends up being okay. They're very sick in the ICU, and that's what no parent wants,” Allen said. 

“So I think it's a privilege to be able to be the person that stands with them, and hopefully walks them through that hard time and gets them through it. It's even more of a privilege to be the person that's there when things don't go the way that we anticipate.”

That kind of insight is part of the reason Meister is so happy to have Allen join his team. “I'm really excited not for just what she's going to do, but she's going to set a tone for our fellowship program that is invaluable and could not be replaced with anything else that you could do.”