Paging the Janszen family: Two generations, one specialty

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 21, 2026) –  Jim Janszen, M.D., and Iveta Janszen, M.D., both anesthesiologists at UK HealthCare, encouraged their four children to be whatever they wanted to be when they grew up. 

“Follow your passion,” they said. “We’ll support you, no matter what career path you choose.” 

They were surprised — and secretly delighted — when their oldest daughter Catherine followed in their footsteps. She went to medical school and became an anesthesiologist herself, also working as an attending physician at UK HealthCare.  

What was even more surprising was when their other children, Elizabeth, Steven and Philip, joined the family business. Elizabeth is in her third year of residency, and Steven and Philip are in their second — all at UK HealthCare. 

“They told us, growing up, ‘There’s never a dull moment in anesthesia,’” said Catherine. “They also told us you can do whatever you want with your life. Maybe it was some reverse psychology.” 

“We never pushed them,” said Iveta. “We said, ‘Why don’t you try engineering or business?’ But they all ended up in anesthesia.” 

Iveta almost took a different path herself. After immigrating to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 1985, she worked hard to learn English while studying for her MCAT exam. In medical school, she planned to pursue a career in family medicine; a choice that seemed to be further solidified during a frustrating anesthesia rotation at a hospital in Cincinnati.   

“The anesthesiologist I was shadowing wasn’t helping me,” Iveta said. “I called the program coordinator and said, ‘I’m bored, no one wants to work with me, can I leave because I’m not doing anything.’ She told me to give it another day. And on that other day, I met Jim.”  

Their paths might not have converged if Jim had followed his initial plan to specialize in general surgery. Looking for a better work-life balance, he applied for and was accepted to the anesthesia program at Ohio State University. His path then took him to the same Cincinnati hospital, where he met Iveta. He jokes that he “showed her the light, and she changed her path to anesthesia. And the rest is history.” 

The Janszen children said Jim and Iveta demonstrated the ideal work-life model, expertly balancing the demands of a career in medicine with a stable, happy home life. They knew other kids whose parents were doctors, Catherine said. But none of their dads were also their soccer coach.  

“We were a really close family growing up. We had friends whose parents were in other types of specialties, and they weren’t ever home,” Catherine said. “When people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to be a doctor like my parents. It was really awesome that our parents were both around a lot. That stuck with us as adults, wanting that kind of life for our families in the future.” 

“When dad was on call, we always looked forward to when our mom would bring us to the hospital to bring him dinner," said Elizabeth. “It gave us a really positive outlook of the hospital. It was fun for us to run down the hallways of the hospital, go raid the doctors’ lounge for snacks and drinks — the same thing we do now.” 

With their four children grown and embarking on their own careers in medicine, Jim and Iveta felt the call of retirement. But they weren’t ready to walk away from the field that brought their whole family together. When their hospital in Cincinnati couldn’t offer them part-time positions, they called their friend Zaki Hassan, M.D., who also happens to be the chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, Critical Care and Pain Medicine in the UK College of Medicine and asked if they could join their kids in Lexington a few days a week. 

“Talking to Dr. Hassan, he said ‘come down to UK and I’ll give you a day job,’ because I was done taking calls,” said Jim. “It worked out for us because we want to be sort of retired. We’ve been doing this for a long time, but we still want to keep our hands in it. And it’s kind of cool working alongside our kids.” 

The Janszens are generally scattered throughout UK HealthCare’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital or working opposite shifts, so it’s rare to find them in the same place at the same time. But occasionally the job and the stars align in such a way that out of all the providers in the room, the majority of them are Janszens. 

“Sometimes my parents are in the room getting a case started, and I go in to block the patient,” said Catherine. “Then people are like, ‘Wow, we have 50% of the Janszens right now.’ Then sometimes Liz will be on the pain team or one of my brothers will be there as well. I think the most there have been was four of us in a room at one time.” 

The Janszens often find each other in hallways, lounges or pre-op holding rooms, and sit for a minute to chat and catch up. 

“It’s always funny,” said Catherine. “The attendings and residents will see us hanging out and be like ‘Oh, it’s the Janszen corner’. They call us the Janszen Anesthesia Dynasty.” 

Any health care provider will tell you that the field of medicine can be taxing, both mentally and emotionally. Some days are harder than others. On those tough days, it’s nice to know you can count on your father to help you through.  

Or your mother. Or your sister. Or your other sister. Or your brother. Or your other brother.  

“It’s a big benefit, having your family in medicine,” said Catherine. “Going through med school, there were days where it’s like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ But I could always call up my parents and they would say, ‘there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.’ They’ve been there. They know what you’re really going through.” 

“You always have somebody there,” said Jim. “Even if we’re not at work, they call us at home and say, ‘I have this really tough case, what would you do?’ After close to 40 years, some of this stuff sticks. So, you can offer some insight and say, ‘This maybe is not in the book, but I know it works.’” 

As Elizabeth advances through her residency, she can relate to Steven and Philip, who are a year behind her. Watching them learn the tricks of the trade and develop their passion is both inspiring and motivating, and she’s happy knowing they have a built-in support system as they go through their training. 

“It was cool when the boys started since I’m just a year ahead of them,” Elizabeth said. “They would be talking about a rotation they just completed or a procedure they just did, and it’s fun to see their excitement. It’s cool to see them go through the same process I just did a year ago.” 

The Janszen siblings have developed somewhat of a reputation at Chandler Hospital — one that compels other doctors to frequently report back to Jim and Iveta.  

“I can’t tell you how many times other physicians have come up to me and say how much they enjoy working with our kids,” said Jim. “Someone will say, ‘I worked with your daughter today, and she did an excellent job.’ That’s very rewarding for us.” 

“We are very proud of our kids because they work very hard,” said Iveta.  

Another physician once told her that her kids were “the dream of all the doctors here.”  

“I was speechless; that was so nice,” she said. “When an attending comes to you and says that, it’s the best feeling you can have.” 

Recently, Catherine welcomed her first child. Whether he grows up to be a third-generation anesthesiologist remains to be seen. But what she knows for sure is how to give him the best of both worlds — a childhood where his mom is active and present but also fulfilled with a challenging and rewarding career. 

“Our parents gave us such an amazing childhood, and we want to be able to do that for our families,” she said. “Our parents set the bar really high. I hope to give him the life our parents gave us.”