Last Day at the Maranatha Medical Plaza

Many of you may not know that my first job out of PA school was also at the same clinic as my first job in the medical field 5 years ago.  When I started as a medical transcriptionist/student intern at Dr. M's clinic, I barely knew anything about medicine.  As I recall, I asked the PA student intern there if pulmonology dealt with the heart.  Boy, was I a newb!

I worked there for a year learning different aspects of pulmonary function such as pulmonary rehab therapist, sleep technician for their sleep lab, medical transcriptionist, triage nurse, and I also did phlebotomies and labs with the head nurse Melba.  It was a great step towards practicing medicine and it gave me a great advantage and experience prior to PA school.

A lot of great memories came from this office during that small time frame.

Irene, Rosalia, Dr. M, Judy and Melba

That experience along with an awesome letter of recommendation from Dr. M got me into Barry's PA school.  After two and a half years and a PANCE exam later, I started my search for a PA position.  I searched high and low in various cities in Georgia, and finally decided to return to my roots in Valdosta and work alongside some of the best crew I know.  I couldn't turn down the offer to work with Dr. M and his crew.  These folks were like family to me before, and were so encouraging along my path towards becoming a PA.  So I took the job, and I am SO thankful I did. 

I started the position letting Dr. M know that I would most likely only be able to offer a year if Benji matches into a residency program the following year.  He said that he already knew that since he has been following us for a while, and he was okay with it, which was a huge relief off my chest.  He still accepted me in as his PA and understood that I was new to practicing medicine.  I asked him countless number of questions about lung diseases, lab values, primary care diseases and more, and he even gave me assignments to present to him regarding different diseases so that it would help me remember them in the future.  He spent a lot of time teaching me, and he often times took me under his wing as like his personal resident. 

Nearly a year later, I still love my job.  I love the patients, the staff, and practicing at this clinic.  I'm sad that I will be leaving here especially knowing that there is most likely no chance of me being able to return in the future as our future now lies in Macon, GA starting in a couple of months.  What makes me feel better tho, is knowing that I will be taking on a new position soon as a mother.  I am now 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant, expecting our first baby girl.  It'll be interesting switching from a job at a clinic to a job at home for a while. 

Dr. M and me in 2009

Dr. M and me in 2014

On my last day, the crew threw Baby Gungho a baby shower!

    

I will for sure miss the Maranatha Medical Plaza and the crew there.  I wish I could stay, but a newer city and a newer boss is calling me...Macon and little Baby Gungho.