Left to right: Lauren Nicole Elliott, MD, Mark Lawrence Elliott, DO, and Natalie Elliott Blumenauer, MD, gather around the fire as young siblings.
Picture this: a family of seven siblings. Two are attorneys, and the remaining five are all physicians. Sounds like an overachieving episode of The Brady Bunch, right? Nope, just a glimpse into the normal family life of the Elliotts.
Lauren Nicole Elliott, MD, Mark Lawrence Elliott, DO, and Natalie Elliott Blumenauer, MD, are all proud to serve as TeamHealth emergency physicians across the country. We spoke with the trio to learn why they chose emergency medicine (EM) and TeamHealth.
TeamHealth: “It’s so rare that multiple siblings go into EM. Did you always know you wanted to be an emergency physician?”
Lauren: “I did not think about going into EM until my last year of medical school. I switched from internal medicine. Mark always wanted to be in EM and I said, ‘I want to do that, too!’”
Mark: “We have older twin brothers who are both physicians. They’re the reason I went into this. They are successful and growing up, I wanted to be just like them. One is a gastroenterologist and the other is a neurologist. After hanging out with them over the years, I learned from them but knew I wanted to do something different.”
Natalie: “I always knew I wanted to go into medicine. I think my mom has a picture of me in first grade dressed in my brother’s old scrubs with a plastic stethoscope, ready to go to career day! I always knew that’s what I wanted to do, but I did not want to go into EM. My sister went into EM, my brother went into EM, so I was not going to do it. However, when I rotated through EM during medical school, I really liked it! How crazy is it that all three of us are EM physicians? I was trying not to follow in their exact footsteps, but it just worked out that way!”
TeamHealth: “We’re going to put you on the spot—who’s the smartest?”
Lauren: “That’s so tough! I think everyone has their strengths. That’s a good diplomatic answer, right?”
Mark: “Natalie. She’s definitely the most book-smart. That’s for sure!”
Natalie: “I figured that’s what Mark would say!”
TeamHealth: “Who joined TeamHealth first?”
Lauren: “I was the first Elliott sibling to join TeamHealth. I signed with TeamHealth because I was looking at jobs in South Florida, and there was an opening. I love working for TeamHealth, and I love working with my recruiter Robin Lorber. She’s amazing! She hired me and a physician colleague who is now a close friend. Last year, I told Robin at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Scientific Assembly that I am now close friends with my colleague she hired, and she started crying. She thought it was so wonderful!”
Mark: “Lauren started working for TeamHealth first. Not long after, the facility where I was completing my residency [contracted with] TeamHealth, so I started working with TeamHealth, too.”
Natalie: “I am currently finishing my residency, and I’m ready to start in July. The hospital system I like in Houston works with TeamHealth. With Lauren enjoying her experience with TeamHealth so much, it made it easy for me to choose to work with them. My recruiter, Jamie Gulliver, is also great to work with!”
TeamHealth: “Do you have any embarrassing family stories or moments of sibling rivalry?”
Lauren: “Growing up, we all got along really well. Once you’re older and you become friends, you start to think, ‘I really like this person—I’m glad we’re related!’ Also, we all lived with each other during college, and this helped us become very close.”
Mark: “We did take road trips, but I can’t think of anything embarrassing off the top of my head. I’ll have to think about that one…”
Natalie: “The reason they didn’t give you an answer is that every story we have is embarrassing! Every vacation story we have is something embarrassing, and we make fun of each other for it. That’s why they didn’t answer that! It’s so nice now—we’re so close and best friends now.”
The Elliott Siblings attend ACEP in 2016
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