DOCTORS OF INTEREST
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Treasure Coast Medical Report
Realizing she needed additional training in the biomedical
sciences, she took a break from her studies and worked
as a quality engineer for Guidant Corp., a maker of cardiac
stents. As part of her job, she conducted clinical case reviews
that looked closely for device failures. Although Vickers
was helping patients as a quality engineer, she realized that
something was missing in her work. It was during this time
that she learned about a friend losing his father to cardiac arrest.
As he shared his father’s story, her second career began
to come into view.
“He was telling me about his father’s symptoms, and in my
head, I already knew that he had heart failure,” she says. “I
realized that had I been the one in that exam room and heard
those symptoms, I may have gotten him to cardiology and
given him the intervention that he needed, and it may not
have been a fatal event.”
It was this defining moment that made Vickers realize she
needed to apply to medical school and follow her destined
path.
“I had done this work as a quality engineer because I
thought it was an easier life than medicine, and I felt was
making a difference,” she points out. “I realized that I was
close, but not close enough to be able to take care of patients
and make a difference on an individual level.”
Following in the footsteps of her father, sister, and brother,
Vickers enrolled in medical school. She received her medical
degree, graduating with honors from West Virginia University.
She then specialized in nephrology, completing her
residency and fellowship at the University of South Carolina.
“The nerd-engineer-geek in me loves the science of nephrology
— loves the numbers — it’s a very objective field,”
she explains. “There are a lot of medical fields where it has
a lot to do with how people feel. I was really drawn to it
because I could check, identify and diagnose with definitive
testing. With a kidney piece, I can do blood work — I can see
what is happening. I was just fascinated by it and thought it
was so interesting.”
IT’S OKAY TO GET HELP!
The Mental Health Association in Indian River County is the
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A U N I T E D WAY AGENCY O F E XC E L L E N C E .
AN A F F I L I AT E O F M E N TA L H E A LT H A M E R I C A .
820 37th Pl.
Vero Beach, FL
772-569-9788
A 5 01 ( c ) 3
NONPROFIT.
>>
JEAN VICKERS
Age: 45
Occupation: Nephrologist and associate
chief of staff for Cleveland
Clinic Martin Health
Lives in: Martin County
Family: Husband, Dr. Rob Vickers
Education: Bachelor’s degree in
chemical engineering from Washington
University; graduate studies
in biomedical engineering at
Ohio State University; medical degree with honors from West
Virginia University; residency and fellowship in nephrology
at the University of South Carolina
Hobbies: “I like to make things — period. So, I knit, sew,
have done some weaving, played around with making pottery,
and I’ve kind of dabbled in a bunch of random things.”
What inspires me: “My patients and my peers because I see
people dealing with chronic illness, and the courage and the
grace that they handle that with, everyday, is inspiring. And,
the same for my peers.”
What most people don’t know about me: “Most days I am
wearing something that I made myself.”
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