Doctor Returns to Hospital Where She Once Worked as a Janitor

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Soon-to-be doctor Shay Taylor-Allen is proof that hard work and determination can take you far. She recently matched with her first-choice residency at Yale School of Medicine, the very hospital where she was born and spent a decade working as a janitor.

Taylor-Allen decided to pursue medicine during her sophomore year, after her mother became ill. At the time, she was working as a janitor at the hospital and shared her story with the former CEO whose office she cleaned. The CEO offered support to her and her family, and the experience inspired her to advocate for others and work toward helping people in similar situations.

The 32-year-old is currently studying at the Howard University College of Medicine and is due to graduate in May. She’ll then return to her hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, to join Yale’s Department of Anesthesiology later this year. “I’m still just feeling like I’m in a dream,” she admits, “because I could have never imagined that I’ll be going back to the same hospital I was not only born at, but a janitor at, to be a doctor for my community.”

Taylor-Allen’s inspiring achievement was also warmly welcomed by the team she’ll soon be joining. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Shay Taylor-Allen who matched to our Yale Department of Anesthesiology Residency.” Dr. Lisa Leffert, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of anesthesiology at Yale New Haven Hospital says. “She will join a community of talented colleagues who are dedicated to patient care, education, investigation, and service to our community.”

Taylor-Allen hopes her story will inspire other women and people of color to pursue their dreams. “We can do anything that we put our minds to—and people of color specifically, we’re needed in [the medical] field,” she says. “People that look like us [are] needed, and our patients are waiting for us to do it.”