Chapter 02 : Early Experience with Healthcare Leadership
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Description
In this chapter, Ms. Kaul explains some of her early experiences with health and healthcare. She first explains that she was exposed early to dealing with big organizations and the drive to build things because her father built UPMC and was (and continues to serve as) CEO of that institution. She saw early what it took to “be out in front” of an institution. She talks about UPMC then discusses childhood experiences that taught her to be self-reliant and independent.
HIPPA Next, Ms. Kaul talks about the prevalence of breast cancer on her mother’s side of the family due to the BRCA-1 gene, and how that inspired her to focus on healthcare and eventually come to work at MD Anderson. She explains that her mother died of breast cancer and she herself has the gene. She recalls her early experiences and memories of her mother, who died when Ms. Kaul was very young.
[The recorder is paused.]
Identifier
KaulR_01_20160224_C02
Publication Date
2-24-2016
Publisher
The Making Cancer History® Voices Oral History Collection, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
City
Houston, Texas
Interview Session
Topics Covered
The Interview Subject's Story - Personal Background; Personal Background; Inspirations to Practice Science/Medicine; Influences from People and Life Experiences; Patients; Patients, Treatment, Survivors; IMAGE Cancer and Disease
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Disciplines
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History
Transcript
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
OK. Well, now I'll sort of start in the traditional place. And when I'm leaning forward and looking [at the recorder], I'm actually taking time and content notes. So I'm just paying attention, I'm just gathering other data as we're talking.
R. Kaul, MBA:
OK.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
So this is sort of the traditional start in an oral history entity, which is, tell me where you were born, and when, and tell me a little about your family.
R. Kaul, MBA:
0:20.02.7 Not much to tell. I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And you mind sharing your birth date?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Oh, February 10th, 1978.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And what about your family? What did your parents do? Brothers, sisters?
R. Kaul, MBA:
So my mom was a nurse. She died when I was five. My dad is the CEO of UPMC.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And for the record, UPMC?
R. Kaul, MBA:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. [Redacted]
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
OK. So obviously, you have deep background in healthcare.
R. Kaul, MBA:
Yes.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Well, I mean, that's part of it. So as you kind of look back and you've thought about your own evolution of your pathway toward what you've chosen to do, what were some of the things that you really picked up on during family -- I mean, those unconsciously passed on lessons that you suddenly realized, oh, that's where that came from. Was there anything like that from your family background?
R. Kaul, MBA:
I think that some of the bigger lessons in my family had more to do with -- I mean, obviously you have your natural kind of absorption of healthcare, right? I mean, that's the topic of conversation, a lot of what's going on in the healthcare setting, and things like that. But really, it's been more about dealing in big organizations in difficult settings and environments, handling, kind of having drive to build things, [Redacted] and kind of that mentality of what it takes to be out in front, have a different model of doing things, [Redacted] So I think my upbringing has been a lot about being more self-made and independent. You know, there was a lot of pressure to -- maybe pressure is the wrong word -- just an environment -- the environment was such that it was important to work independently and work for everything. [Redacted]
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
I mean, you're sort of in the crossfire of two generations, the older generation that doesn't want the younger generation to take everything for granted --
R. Kaul, MBA:
Exactly.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
-- that's been achieved.
R. Kaul, MBA:
Exactly. So that was a very big part of my upbringing, was ensuring that I didn't take what we had for granted. So --
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Are you an oldest child?
R. Kaul, MBA:
I'm the youngest child.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Youngest child. Ah, interesting.
R. Kaul, MBA:
I have an older sister. But it was important that I didn't take anything that we had for granted, because my father didn't grow up with any of it. So he was very sensitive to that issue. So push very hard on the opposite end of the equation, where I always maintained several part-time jobs, and I had to make sure I was, driving forward with all of these things in an independent way, and not be -- though there were obviously wonderful opportunities at hand; being able to go to the best schools and things, but making sure I didn't feel kind of privileged, the way that a lot of the kids in those types of schools did.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Let me ask you for the record, your dad's name?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Jeffrey Romoff.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Jeffrey?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Jeffrey Romoff. R-O-M-O-F-F.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And your older sister's name?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Jennifer Romoff.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And your late mom's name?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Vivian.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
And is that I-A-N?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Yeah.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
OK. [Redacted]
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Yeah. So in terms of the evolution of your interests and how you were starting to integrate, you know, the focus of the family on healthcare, these lessons you were learning, you know, when did you start to look at yourself and say, oh, hmm, there's an ability, there is an -- you know, how did all of that sense of yourself as an evolving professional instrument start to take shape?
R. Kaul, MBA:
0:28.10.5 Maybe I should take a step back and talk a little bit about my mom.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Yeah, please do.
R. Kaul, MBA:
So she died of breast cancer. So I just wanted to kind of talk about that for a minute, because it sort of leads me to where I am today to some extent. And her mom died of breast cancer as well, and as did her mom.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Oh, my gosh.
R. Kaul, MBA:
And so we've, we discovered that she had the BRCA1 gene. [ ] My mom died in New York. They both grew up in the Bronx in New York. And they were high school sweethearts, and they came to Pittsburgh together. Actually, she was recruited and he was accommodated for her. But Pittsburgh didn't have a good cancer center or anything at that time, so she had to be treated in New York. So we had to go back and forth to see her, because it was the only care she could get at that time, which has since changed. [ ] [Redacted] So it's not just that she -- it's not just that both my parents were in healthcare and were kind of living in that world, but also the interest and thinking about, you know, the cancer and genetics.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
In fact, our real lives do that.
R. Kaul, MBA:
Exactly.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
0:30.16.7 Yeah. [Redacted]
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Do you have memories of your mom? Or, I should say, what are your memories of your mom?
R. Kaul, MBA:
Not really, because she was diagnosed with cancer a month after I was born.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Oh, wow.
R. Kaul, MBA:
And then so she was sick most of the time. I remember her a little bit being sick. And I remember right before she died, visiting her for the last time.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
0:30.53.7 Wow. That's tough.
R. Kaul, MBA:
That -- yeah. I don't remember a whole lot. Too young.
T. A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Yeah. Just pause real quick for a second. OK, we're back after a brief break, and you were just going to share this one lesson.
Recommended Citation
Kaul, Rebecca MBA and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Chapter 02 : Early Experience with Healthcare Leadership" (2016). Interview Chapters. 1261.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1261
Conditions Governing Access
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