About Us
At Arkansas Integrative Pediatrics, our goal is to guide patients in an individualized approach to address all aspects of health. We help children and families develop the skills and knowledge to care best for themselves in the future.
Meet Jenny Kelly, MD
Growing up in El Dorado, Arkansas, as the daughter of a veterinarian and elementary librarian, an appreciation of the biological sciences and a delight in childhood education was imprinted on me at a young age. Additionally, I was influenced by the varied interests of my three older siblings and undoubtedly benefitted from their desire to teach me about the world. Celebrating unique personalities was the standard, and sharing information was a way to show care.
High school and college athletics offered an opportunity to work as part of a team and to celebrate the wins of others. Potentially competitive environments were, instead, fully collaborative. When every person is allowed to be themselves and chase their own goals, deep connections happen and true character shines.
Heading into medical school, I was determined to maintain a balance of my studies, other interests and important relationships. No one had talked to me about a “work-life” balance, but I knew that to be fulfilled, I needed to pursue non-academic goals and continue to cultivate meaningful relationships. The idea of whole-person health was innate, but I didn’t have any language for it yet.
My medical school classmates were bright and capable. We learned the fundamentals of medicine together in lectures and then moved onto clinical experiences where we began to discover what sparked our interest as individuals. Pediatrics was undeniably for me.
My colleagues and teaching physicians in residency training were compassionate and thorough, and the synergistic environment made asking questions and sharing ideas feel safe instead of vulnerable. I also had my first experience working directly with pharmacists, respiratory therapists, social workers and others as part of a patient care team. I was reminded that a strong team is worth so much more than the sum of its parts.
Pediatricians are, as a general rule, kind and caring, and my time in a general pediatrics clinic gave me another opportunity to learn from generous and brilliant people. However, as a mom to very young children at the time, my schedule was unsustainable, and I made the hard decision to take a break from the practice of medicine.
In 2013, I founded the Central Arkansas Council of Girls on the Run which is a physical activity-based positive youth development that has been shown to build confidence in elementary aged girls by building social, emotional and physical skills. I was given a gift of observing the development of all aspects of health in multiple children in real time. I had the opportunity to look at child development through a slightly different lens.
Girls on the Run was an unbelievably rewarding experience, but I always knew I wanted to return to practice, and in 2019 I began part time work in the Delta region of Arkansas. Over the last five years, I’ve gotten to know patients and their families well, which has reminded me that caring for a child means understanding their environment, their closest influences, and their values.
Retrospectively, I can see how I’ve been a student of health my entire life. Medical training and practice are the most obvious ways I’ve put that into action, but I have personally been exploring health every day. Through experience, trial and error, and independent research, I developed some best practices that felt best for me, but offering medical advice carries the responsibility of using data to drive your decisions. The only way I would feel confident shifting my practice to include integrative modalities would be to complete a formal training program developed by leaders who are both open to ideas that aren’t highlighted in traditional Western medical training and who seek quality evidence before incorporating new processes into their practice. I completed my fellowship in Integrative Medicine in March of 2023 and passed the only national level exam in Integrative Medicine in May 2023.
I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and find it interesting to reflect on how each major phase of my life has led to Arkansas Integrative Pediatrics. I hope to be a useful resource for children across the state and am thrilled to share what I’ve learned with you and your child.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Zoology, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, 1996-2000
Medical Degree, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 2001-2005
Residency, Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma – Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 2005-2008
Fellowship, The University of Arizona, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, Tuscon, AZ, 2021-2023
The Whole Story
Let’s work together to uncover the whole story and create an individualized approach for your child’s health.