Physician Spotlight: Tyler Perrin-Bellelo, MD

“Some of my patients didn’t make it,” recounted Tyler Perrin-Bellelo, MD, Lafayette internist and mother of three, all under the age of five.

By nature, many of us in medicine try to be heroic. We sometimes try to do “too much.” COVID-19 wreaked havoc on her hospital patients, and for Perrin-Bellelo, chair of general medicine, she faced tremendous stress taking care of inpatients while managing a busy outpatient primary care clinic.

She and her colleagues lost patients, despite their best and tireless efforts. Perhaps it was the strength she gained from her twins, born shortly before the pandemic and her eldest daughter who was three at the time that kept her going. “I knew I had to keep going for my girls, just as I had to keep going for my patients. Abandoning ship was absolutely not an option.” She also shared that her support system – friends, parents, staff – are who helped her endure the struggle she was facing.

Perrin-Bellelo admits that at times, the stress was overwhelming, but a few difference-makers enabled her to overcome the chaos:

• Support network: Perrin-Bellelo says that she learned the repercussions of spreading herself too thin… so she actively and gratefully enlists the help of others, including a nanny for her children. She also attests to the power and efficiencies that come with running a practice with a nurse practitioner. Her patient satisfaction scores are soaring, and claims “joy in work” – all amidst post-COVID staffing shortages and the obligations of family life.
• Partnership: Whether it’s her husband who she jovially claims “takes care of everything,” or Ochsner Health Network who provides access to physician specialist experts, Perrin-Bellelo recognizes that doctors MUST be able to give patients what they need and deserve – expertise, access and emotional support. Perrin-Bellelo agrees that happier patients make happier doctors, who make happier partners and parents, in turn, and vice versa.
• Self-care, self-talk: Perrin-Bellelo knew that she needed to do something during the height of pandemic losses and stress at work. She maintained that she would be the “voice of gratitude and comfort” for her amazing patients, colleagues and staff. And in order to do that, she remembers repeating to herself “this stress won’t last forever” and “this too shall pass.” She also made herself “get out” to clear her mind, so she started tennis lessons for exercise and social enjoyment.

Without a doubt, Perrin-Bellelo’s attitude towards work (and life in general) is a shining example. With two feet firmly planted on the ground, and a sense of resounding gratitude, she remains optimistic about some of the painful-yet-necessary hurdles physicians face – adjusting to EPIC’s ever-changing and ever-improving electronic medical record and interfaces; leveraging the real-time, transparent data her physician dashboard and scorecard provide; and owning the role of “bus driver” that primary care patients so desperately need.

“With change, comes pain. But I try really hard to find joy in little victories every single day. COVID has helped me appreciate people and progress more. Life is so precious.”

Chair of General Medicine for Ochsner Lafayette General, Tyler Perrin-Bellelo, MD, has been serving patients since 2015. She practices inpatient and outpatient internal medicine in Lafayette, Louisiana, where she lives with her family – husband Bryan, and daughters Mia (5), Madeline (2), and Chloé (2).