From ICU nurse to critical care physician: Kenneth Cory Guice, D.O. comes full circle at East Alabama Health

Long before Kenneth Cory Guice, D.O. joined East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) as a pulmonary and critical care physician, he learned the rhythms of patient care within the same four walls.

His connection to East Alabama Health began as a multi-care tech, then grew through the organization's Scholarship Loan Program, which helped him pursue his nursing degree and begin a career in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Years later, after medical school, residency and fellowship training, that same connection brought him back to EAMC as a physician to care for patients in the community that helped shape him.

"My heart kept being pulled back to EAMC," Guice said. "I think that just speaks a lot to the culture."

A start at the bedside

Guice, who grew up in Alexander City, said he felt an early pull toward medicine, but he was not sure he was ready to take that step. Working in patient care at EAMC gave him a place to begin.

"I felt the call to go to medicine, but I didn't feel like I was ready for that call," he said. "Then I got a job as a nursing care tech, and then I was an MCT [multi-care tech] here at EAMC as well."

Those early roles introduced him to the side of health care that would stay with him throughout his career: the one-on-one connection between caregiver and patient.

"I really liked the nursing side of it," he said. "I enjoyed the bedside and the patient care aspect of it. Ultimately, that's what drew me to nursing: being able to have that connection with the patient."

Support that helped open a door

As Guice pursued nursing, East Alabama Health's Scholarship Loan Program helped make that path more accessible. The program allowed him to complete his undergraduate nursing degree without taking on a school loan.

"The impact was great," he said. "I was able to not have any undergraduate debt when I finished my undergraduate nursing degree, and that was fantastic."

For Guice, that support did more than ease a financial burden. It helped set the foundation for a career that would continue to grow from nursing to medicine, and eventually back to East Alabama Health.

Encouragement in the ICU

After becoming a nurse, Guice worked in the ICU at EAMC, where he cared for critically ill patients and worked alongside physicians who helped him see a possible next step.

He said physicians including Michael Roberts, M.D., and Steven Presley, M.D. played an early role in encouraging him to consider medical school.

"I saw how they interacted with their patients and how they thought about patients," Guice said. "I asked them, 'Do you think medicine would be something that would be achievable for me?' and they were the ones that initially gave me the push to go to medical school."

That encouragement led to a period of reflection.

Guice said he had to be honest with himself about whether he was ready for the demands of medical training.

He decided he indeed was ready.

Guice went on to earn his medical degree from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) in Dothan, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and finished a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

A nurse's perspective, carried into medicine

Today, Guice practices at East Alabama Pulmonology and EAMC, specializing in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

He's a bit of a "Renaissance physician," having participated in lung nodule and COVID-19 outcomes research, earned a Master of Business Administration and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Healthcare Quality and Safety from UAB.

Even with those credentials, he said his years in nursing continue to influence the way he approaches patients.

"I never really lost that desire to have that one-on-one connection with the patient," he said. "That's something that I really feel like, from a nursing perspective, I'm able to take into my medical perspective. Having that real human connection with a patient and making sure they feel like the most important person in the room is always top of mind."

Coming home to care for the community

For Guice, returning to East Alabama Health was more than a job opportunity. It was a chance to practice in a community-focused health system close to home.

"I've always been a community person," he said. "I'm from a small town, from Alexander City, so I've always wanted to practice in a smaller to medium-sized community. Knowing everybody here, knowing the culture here, just made it a very easy choice.

"I left EAMC in 2016 to go to medical school, and the culture was great then. I feel like it's even better now that I'm joining back. I feel that same sense of community among everybody."

That sense of community extends to the patients he now serves. Guice said caring for people in a region he knows adds another level of meaning to his work.

"It's great to have physicians in the region that can bring high-quality care really close to home, so patients don't have to travel very far to see a doctor," he said. "They don't have to travel very far to get the latest and greatest advancements in care."

A full-circle moment

Walking back into EAMC as a physician was, in Guice's words, "a pretty surreal moment." Some of the people he worked with as a nurse are now colleagues again.

"It was really cool being able to come back and start something here."

His journey from tech to nurse to physician reflects the kind of long-term connection East Alabama Health can have with those who begin their careers with the organization.

For Guice, the organization was not just a first stop. It was the place that helped him discover his path, encouraged him to pursue it and ultimately welcomed him back to serve the community he calls home.

About East Alabama Health

East Alabama Health encompasses East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital in Valley, East Alabama Medical Center North in Opelika, the Spencer Cancer Center in Opelika, the Auburn Medical Pavilion and a host of other key medical clinics and practices that help provide a continuum of care to patients throughout an 11-county area. EAMC is a 316-bed regional referral hospital. EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital provides emergency and outpatient services while its campus also features a nursing home and an ambulatory surgery center. East Alabama Health employs about 4,100 people and is the second largest employer in the region, trailing only Auburn University.