What is your role at PCOM?

As the Campus Officer, I oversee the day-to-day business operations of the South Georgia campus. This includes budget preparation for departments, ensuring that the campus facility is working properly and also making sure that faculty and staff have the educational resources they need to deliver curriculum to our students.

When I started this position in 2018 the PCOM South Georgia campus was still under construction. Being here from the very beginning, it is exciting to see our first class of doctor of osteopathic medicine students, who are now in their third year, start their clinical rotations.

Please share a brief background of your professional career including details of previous positions at PCOM.

When I first joined PCOM in June of 1985, I was a medical assistant at the Cambria Healthcare Center. In 1990, I transferred to the Roxborough Healthcare center. I loved working with the patients and the fourth-year medical students.

In 1993, I transferred to the Healthcare Center Administrative Suite on the PCOM campus as a senior secretary and was subsequently promoted to practices manager in 1995. I was responsible for the daily operations of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and geriatrics in Rowland Hall and the Healthcare Center in LaPorte Pennsylvania.

In May of 1999, I transferred into the Department of Graduate Medical Education. For the next 18 years, I was responsible for daily operations of the 12 PCOM residency programs, ensuring the quality and continued accreditation of the MEDNet partner programs (41 hospitals), and assisting in residency program development with our numerous hospital systems.

In addition to creating numerous residency programs, I think my greatest accomplishment in this office was working with the program directors and other members of the graduate medical education staff, to transition to a single accreditation system which combined the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Under this new system, the PCOM residency programs were required to apply to ACGME for program approval.

What are some of the challenges you see in your role? How do you plan to face those challenges?

We faced many challenges when we opened PCOM South Georgia. As a team, we worked together to overcome construction delays, host numerous visits from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) to gain accreditation, hire caring and competent faculty and staff and, ultimately, prepare the campus for our students’ first day of class.
Instead of seeing challenges, we see opportunities to embrace new programs here on our campus. We are constantly exploring new methodologies for delivering instruction. We are also very excited to involve the local community in the life and growth of PCOM South Georgia.

What is your favorite thing about PCOM?

My PCOM family! I enjoy working with students, faculty and staff alike.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I was a majorette in high school and twirled fire at halftime during football games.