In the summer of 1974, five young medical students from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine found themselves sharing a cabin in Somerset, Ky., while completing their community medicine rotation. Little did they know, this shared experience would be the foundation of a lifelong friendship that would span decades, careers, and continents. They would eventually dub themselves "The Big Chill," a nod to the 1983 film about college friends reuniting.
As the Class of 1975 approaches its 50th reunion, The Big Chill remains as strong as ever. The five couples— Ed Scott, MD, and his wife, Ann; Bob Woods, MD, and wife, Judy; Scott Scutchfield, MD, and wife, Bunny; Lisle Dalton, MD, and wife, Kathy; and David McKee, MD, and wife, Jeanie—have shared not only the triumphs and tribulations of medical careers but also personal milestones and family joys.
All five gentlemen credited their mentors at the UK College of Medicine—Ward Griffen, MD, John Greene Jr., MD, and Emery Wilson, MD, to name a few—with shaping their careers and instilling values that have stayed with them throughout their lives. They each have made contributions to the college over the years, reflecting the values instilled in them during their training. Their careers have taken them in different directions, but their ties to the UK College of Medicine remain a part of their shared history.
One of the defining characteristics of The Big Chill is that, remarkably, all five couples have remained married since medical school—an anomaly in any profession, let alone the demanding field of medicine. Cornelia Wilbur, MD, a pioneering psychology professor at UK and co-author of “Sybil,” once warned their class that more than half of their marriages would not survive medical school. Yet, these couples defied the odds.
Their secret? According to Bunny, it comes down to choosing to prioritize friendships and relationships. “You have to care about one another and make the effort,” she said. Their wives played an instrumental role in maintaining the group's closeness, both as friends themselves and as the organizers of reunions, get-togethers, and travel adventures over the years.
Their friendships have outlasted the pressures of medical training, the long hours of residency, and the challenges of maintaining work-life balance as physicians. They’ve traveled the world together, from Ireland to Alaska, and continue to prioritize their time together despite busy family lives and, now, retirement.
The enduring friendship also transcends generations. Three of their children— Kelly Woods-Shirley, MD, Jennifer Scott, MD, and Appleton Scutchfield, MD— have followed in their parents’ footsteps. The trio graduated from the UK College of Medicine together in 2004.
For today’s medical students, The Big Chill is both an inspiration and a reminder: success in medicine is not just about professional achievements, but also about the relationships you build along the way.
“Study hard, but don’t forget about relationships with people,” advised Dr. Dalton.
“Don’t lose sight of the human side of medicine.”
