Kory Kaye, MD, FACEP

After retiring in January after 33 years in emergency medicine, Kory Kaye, MD, FACEP, has more time to devote to her hobby of the last 25 years: dog agility competitions. Dr. Kaye and Kaemon, her Shetland sheepdog, have earned many trophies over the years, including winning the American Kennel Club’s national agility competition in 2016. Dog sports have grown in popularity since she got her start, and now she gets to compete twice per month. “Dog agility is the most amazing blend of right-brain and left-brain activity I have ever experienced,” Dr. Kaye said. She said training dogs requires patience and empathy, while the agility courses, held secret until the competition day, require quick, analytical thinking. She said the sport has a lot of the elements that drew her to emergency medicine: “All the highs and lows, quick thinking, rapid decision making, and adjusting when things are not going the way you expected.”

Kerry Yancy, MD, FACEP

Kerry Yancy

Kerry Yancy, MD, FACEP, an assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, has always been a “cat person,” but she took it to the next level when she started exhibiting her cats during medical school. She’s competed in 27 states and three countries with her award-winning Somalis, Turkish Vans, and household pets, including a Somali that was named one of the best in the world by The International Cat Association (TICA). Dr. Yancy describes it as “a way to just be a cat person and not a doctor to an entire small section of the world, almost like I have a second identity.” She and her kids compete together, and she’s made some of her best friends through TICA shows. “I tell my residents that to survive in EM emotionally, we all must have a nonmedical hobby,” she said. “It’s a great way to connect with the world and to nurture one’s own mind and spirit.”