Chad Knight - Success Story - Nursing Program
Dr. Chad Knight is glad he took a “leap of faith” the day he enrolled at Hazard Community and Technical College. He was 30-years-old when he decided to work on his education and now he is a fifth-year surgical resident physician which means he is in the final year of training to become a board-certified general surgeon.
His career is very rewarding. His day consists of supervising the junior surgery residents, seeing and treating patients in the clinic, taking care of critical patients in the surgical ICU and performing surgery.
He graduated from HCTC in May 2005 with an associate in arts as well as an associate in science. While at HCTC he was awarded honors in English and biology as well as the Student Worker Award. After leaving HCTC, he enrolled at Transylvania University in Lexington, where he earned a bachelor’s of arts with a major in anthropology and a minor in biology. He then matriculated at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine where he earned his doctorate of medicine or MD. Also, while attending the College of Medicine, he took classes in the Morehead State University College of Business to earn a certificate in health systems management.
“While at HCTC, I was lucky to have all the support of instructors and professors who were genuinely interested in helping me to reach, essentially, any goal that I set for myself. The faculty at HCTC is so supportive of all their students which is key to ensuring success. The ease and willingness of faculty to ensure each student has a "tailor-made" schedule that fits their unique circumstance would lead me to recommend HCTC to anyone, especially folks like myself who work full time while supporting a family but who are interested in furthering their education and becoming not only better providers for their family but also well-rounded individuals,” Dr. Knight said.
Dr. Knight fondly remembers HCTC faculty members who were instrumental in his success at HCTC and beyond. “In my honors English class, Professor Ron Reed opened the door to intellectual curiosity. I learned to question even the most basic ideas in such a way that made me realize an individual’s interpretation of the world can, in fact, be unique to that individual, in turn adding color or diversity to the collective fabric of humanity,” he said. He said English Professor Scott Lucero was also a key player in his success at HCTC in that he “set” rules but allowed him to break those rules, creatively. He values Biology Professor Amy Wernette who, after a course in anatomy and physiology, counseled him to strongly consider the possibility of a career in medicine.
His advice to others is, “no matter what the circumstance, endure the struggle, and keep your sights set on the end goal.”
His career goals are to provide good surgical care for folks in and around Eastern Kentucky so that they don't have to travel for miles and miles to get the treatment they deserve. “I'm also interested in health care policy; unfortunately medicine has become so industrialized the altruism from which, I feel, the career sprang has become so buried in the quagmire of the industry I think it behooves those working within the industry to dig that back out, polish it off and make medicine what it was intended to be.”
Before Dr. Knight started college, he worked a variety of jobs in construction as well as a couple of years as a professional tree trimmer maintaining the right of way for electrical power lines. The job he worked the longest was journeyman lineman where he constructed and maintained the electrical power lines that provide businesses and residences with the "juice" most people greatly depend upon for day-to-day activities.
The Eastern Kentucky region will benefit from Dr. Knight’s services when he begins working in Hazard at Appalachian Regional Healthcare on Aug. 1.
Dr. Knight has quite a bit of family in Hazard including his parents Larry and Eileen Knight and siblings as well as his mother-in-law Norma Napier and her extended family.
He lives in Lesage, West Virginia with his wife, Amy, and six of their children. Their oldest two are out making lives of their own. The couple’s eight children--four boys and four girls--range in ages from 7 to 25.
Dr. Knight encourages others to take the leap that he made. He said folks will be pleased to discover how many people want to see them succeed and who will help them with their success, beginning at HCTC.
Interested in enrolling at HCTC? Call the Admissions Department, 606-487-3293, today.
