I enjoy listening to the patients about who they are and what matters most to them, their medical history, and formulating an effective treatment plan.
I tell medical students wanting to specialize in MS as a neurologist that MS is a complicated but very rewarding condition to manage.
A day in my life:
- 5:45 a.m. Time to get up! I head to the kitchen and start fixing the morning meal.
- 6:15 a.m. Our family eats breakfast, and then I prepare the boys’ lunches. Next it’s time to get everyone ready for the day. I help get the kids dressed and make sure they have brushed their teeth and are packed and ready to go. Then they play for a little while before my husband takes them to school.
- 7:30 a.m. Prep myself for the day, clean-up any messes in the kitchen and around the house, and get ready to head off to work at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, MS Center of Excellence.
- 8:15 a.m. It’s a fairly uneventful trip to the office. Fortunately, I have an easy commute and don’t have to fight much traffic.
- 8:30 a.m. Sometimes I have meetings in the morning or I see my first patient. My typical day starts with taking care of signatures, replying to emails, and returning phone messages.
- … until 5:30 p.m. I average 10-12 patients each day, depending on their needs and situations. Most appointments are about 30 minutes with established patients, but they can last up to 1 ½ hours with new patients. Throughout the day I review lab reports and MRI results, check messages, and go over patient notes and charts. I complete the patients’ charts and reports and wrap-up any final details.
- 5:30 p.m. Pick-up the boys and head home~
- 7 p.m. Dinner is served! We either pick-up something on the way home or prepare a meal.
- 8 p.m. Bath and story time for the kids.
- 8:30 p.m. Bedtime begins for my youngsters, though sometimes this can take longer than planned if someone wants a drink, a snack or an extra hug…
- 10 p.m. I take care of any final things around the house, get ready for bed, and wind-down for the day.
- 11 p.m. Lights out for me after a full and fast-paced day!
Outside of work, I enjoy spending as much time as possible with the boys and traveling.
