Capt. Carolyn Rice. She's a graduate of Syracuse University. A "fitness-aholic." A parent of three. And thanks to a life-changing switch from computer science to biology before her sophomore year, a doctor turned naval officer.

The Pennsylvania native grew up in historic Valley Forge. Rice now follows her own historical journey by stepping into the number two seat as Naval Medical Center Portsmouth's newest executive officer in the Navy's oldest hospital.

"I'm very excited to be here," Rice said. "This is where I wanted to come. I've never been here before so I look forward to learning."

Rice said, thus far, she's enjoyed seeing how NMCP staff members take care of their patients and seeing how the command puts patient safety at the forefront.

"Every morning, we start out our day talking about patient safety in our operations meetings," Rice said. "There's a real coming together of people around that, which has made a really positive impression for me."

As Rice shared much about her passion for patients and staff, she also shared how prior to becoming a medical officer, she was on a much different career track.

"I started out my undergraduate career as a computer science major," Rice said. "It makes my children laugh because I'm not always up to date with my technological skills."

Rice said she always loved math and science but wanted to work with people. After her freshman year she landed a summer job in a cardiology office through a temp hiring agency.

"I was basically a medical clerk," Rice said. "I was filing patient charts, booking appointments, and the fun thing I would get to see was the EKGs that the EKG technicians would bring back and we would read them."

Rice said there was a medical student working in the same office that summer who she got to share her experience with.

"Every time a report came back with the results of a heart catheterization, or pictures of an echocardiogram, we would start talking about it, and I started to learn about medicine on the job," Rice said. "After that summer, I knew I wanted to go to medical school and was determined to become a doctor."

Upon graduation at Syracuse, Rice began her studies at University of Rochester Medical School where she would eventually choose to go into internal medicine.

"I think it gets back to the part that I always liked working with people and getting to know their story," Rice said. "I like building that relationship and trust with the patient, and that's what I like about internal medicine."

Along her path in medical school, Rice decided after her first year to join the Navy and be commissioned.

"Growing up, we spent time at a beach house in the summers," Rice said. "I loved that experience of being near the water so that's what attracted me to being in the Navy."

At the time Rice was making a decision to join, she said that all the Navy training hospitals were near the water.

"I thought that was pretty cool," Rice said. "I didn't necessarily imagine at the time that I'd be here 21 years later."

After graduating medical school, Rice quickly got more than just beaches. After completing her residency and consolidation tour, she had the opportunity to become a flight surgeon.

"It's interesting because I had a fear of flying and you take these familiarization flights in the helicopters and the T34s," Rice said.

When she was going through the program, Rice said that she was already about 10 years senior to her classmates, with the typical flight school student being recently out of college. At the time, Rice had already risen through the ranks to lieutenant commander, naturally deeming her the class leader to her ensign and lieutenant junior grade counterparts.

"We had to go through water survival training and you had to swim a mile in a flight suit, and I didn't really swim," Rice said. "I'd put my kids down for bed at night and go to my community pool hoping to not run into any of my neighbors. I would be swimming laps at nine o'clock at night in full clothing so I could build up and be able to swim this mile."

Rice said her journey in flight school didn't get any easier when she had to overcome a portion of the training in the "dunker," a simulated helicopter that is flipped upside down and filled with water where service members have to escape blindfolded.

"I'm fairly small so the key to getting out is being able to reach out and touch something first to hold on to something," Rice said.

Rice said during the exercise she had trouble grabbing a hold of something to help her get out of the helicopter and had to repeat the exercise multiple times and eventually became hypothermic.

"I was thinking, I have to graduate because I was the class leader, you know?" Rice said. "And I can't leave my class behind, so I had the class cheering me on and helping me get through, and when I finally did, the class made me a plaque when we graduated with a little dunker on it to commemorate the feat."

Now with a new challenge of being XO at a large medical center, Rice said she hopes for NMCP to continue to excel in all the areas that it has been recognized for and said that one of her focus areas is how NMCP can help the patient experience on the front end.

"We've all had that experience where our kid wakes up at 2 a.m. with a fever, and we know that once we see that doctor, we'll get that absolute fabulous care, but it's that experience before we get in front of that doctor that I think we have an opportunity to improve," Rice said.

Rice also said that as she steps into her new leadership position, that she will apply that same level of commitment she did with her patients to her Sailors.

"We have to invest in our Sailors and understand what's happening with their Sailorization - from what mentorship they are receiving to what their career goals are," Rice said. "We can have a culture where we look out for each other and we lead with integrity and professionalism, but that means getting to know people's stories and really knowing their values and what matters to them. That takes time and commitment, and that's something I think is really important so that down the road we can accomplish our goals."


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