Dr. Jeanne Scanland ’74: Physician, Trailblazer, Philanthropist

PHYSICIAN, Trailblazer, PHILANTHROPIST

DR. JEANNE SCANLAND ’ 74

FIRST FEMALE GENERAL SURGEON AND THE FIRST FEMALE PLASTIC SURGEON IN CHATTANOOGA

REMAINED THE ONLY FEMALE PLASTIC SURGEON IN CHATTANOOGA FOR 25 YEARS

ONLY PLASTIC SURGEON EVER IN THE REGION TO HAVE COMPLETED A COSMETIC AND A BREAST RECONSTRUCTION FELLOWSHIP

Since second grade Jeanne Scanland ’74 has had only one career aspiration—to become a surgeon. Never wavering from that dream, each Christmas and birthday she would ask for money for medical school, depositing it in the savings account she opened at age 5 with Scotty Probasco at American National Bank. As she got older, she worked every summer and while in college to contribute to her nest egg. There was just one problem with her plan; there had never been a female surgeon in Chattanooga before.

“I can’t really explain how I was so certain at such an early age; I just knew it was what I was supposed to do,” she says. “Everyone told me that it wasn’t possible because I was a girl, and that I’d have to be a nurse instead.”

Fortunately, Scanland’s parents supported her dream. At a time when very few women worked outside of the home, Scanland’s mother was an attorney and judge. Her father was a mechanical engineer with a Ph.D., and they both believed that education could help their daughter accomplish her goals. When it came time for middle school, there was never any doubt they would send her to GPS.

Scanland credits the experience with preparing her for medical school, exposing her to courses not typically available to girls at that time such as calculus, biology, physics, and chemistry. More importantly, GPS taught her a love of learning and how to become a self-directed learner.

Dr. Jeanne Scanland, center back row, with her fellow surgical residents. Dr. Jeanne Scanland, in pink, with her fellow Chattanooga plastic surgeons.

“The two most important things I learned were how to study and how to think independently,” she says. “Once you become a self-learner you can do anything. There are no limitations.”

Scanland has embodied this in her career, continually breaking down barriers for women in medicine. She was one of a handful of women in her medical school and the first female in the six-year general surgery residency at Erlanger Hospital. During this training, 127-hour work weeks were common and there were weeks she wouldn’t even go home.

She went on to pursue a two-year plastic surgery residency, also at Erlanger, and became Chattanooga’s first and only female board-certified plastic surgeon and held that distinction for 25 years within a 150-mile radius. She then completed cosmetic and breast reconstruction fellowships at three major medical centers in the South. To this day, she remains the only plastic surgeon in the region to have completed these fellowships.

All told, Scanland’s post-secondary education and training spanned 13 years. And while she credits the love and support of her parents and community, she managed to pay her own way through medical school through savings, two partial scholarships, and a student loan from the same man who opened her first savings account.

Scanland continues to be a lifelong learner; these days at a more leisurely pace. With a passion for art and design, she is always seeking opportunities to deepen her understanding, whether it’s taking architecture classes in Paris or visiting an art gallery in Japan. She is once again grateful for the well-rounded education she received at GPS, particularly in music and Ms. Thompson’s art history classes.

“I wish every girl who wanted to go to GPS could have that opportunity,” she says. “I feel like I have been so blessed, I want to make sure I return my blessings to someone else.”

Scanland has certainly done her part. For many years she would quietly pay girls’ tuition out of her own pocket. Her only requirement was that they loved the school. To further these efforts, she started the Boyd and Opal Scanland Memorial Scholarship in 1997 in memory of her parents. She also served as a trustee for many years under former headmaster Randy Tucker.

Medical causes are also close to her heart, believing everyone deserves good healthcare. She is a former member of UNICEF’s southeast regional board and the local Red Cross chapter, and has served on surgical and medical committees at nearly every hospital in town.

Through the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society’s Project Access, Scanland has provided countless hours of free medical care. For years she oversaw the weekly Plastic Surgery Residents Clinic at Erlanger Hospital, which provided free care for indigent patients needing treatment or reconstruction (or both) due to burns, diseases, cancer, or trauma. She taught the plastic surgery residents how to care for these patients and how to do their surgeries. Scanland also helps others learn by allowing students of all ages—residents, nurses, and even fellow doctors—to do clinical rotations with her.

Of all the investments Scanland has made throughout her life, GPS remains one of the most promising.

“A gift to GPS not only changes our community but the whole world,” she says. “Our graduates are going all over now, bringing what they learned at GPS with them. I truly believe these women will be the providers, leaders, and changers of our world for the better.”

Scanland credits GPS for preparing her for a lifetime of learning. After graduating from GPS, she went on to complete 17 more years of education and training.

• Undergraduate: University of

Tennessee Chattanooga, BS in

Chemistry, magna cum laude

• Medical school: University of

Tennessee Center for Health

Sciences in Memphis

• General Surgery Residency,

UT College of Medicine,

Erlanger Hospital

• Plastic Surgery Residency,

UT College of Medicine,

Erlanger Hospital

• Cosmetic and Breast

Reconstruction Fellowships at Emory University and St.

Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta;

Baptist Hospital in Nashville; and University of Alabama in

Birmingham