Where are you originally from?
I’m half Montanan. My ancestors settled in Montana 100 years ago. I was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, and moved home to Montana 20 years ago.
What is your specialty?
The heart has both a plumbing and an electrical system. I specialize in the electrical system, called cardiac electrophysiology.
What kind of conditions do you treat?
We treat electrical rhythm disturbances from the heart chambers, such as atrial fibrillation and flutter, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and ventricular tachycardia (VT) with medication or cardiac ablation. We also implant devices such as Watchman devices and pacemakers/defibrillators.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
What makes me come to work every day is a genuine interest in connecting with patients and helping them navigate their cardiac health.
What is your background?
I’ve had a wonderfully winding path of a career. At nine I started playing viola, eventually getting a music teaching degree from Arizona State University. Although I didn’t pursue teaching as a career, my background in music taught me skills that I continue to utilize: persistence, how to prepare my work for presentation, how to teach others, how to work through challenges, how to work independently and in a group, and to create beauty.
Having put myself through cosmetology school in Arizona, I ran my own booth rent stylist business for 20 years, retiring just this year. My salon business afforded me a flexible schedule so that I could raise my children and then later pursue my Bachelors and eventually Masters degree in nursing.
20 years ago, I did hair for people’s weddings, then saw their families grow and have children of their own and did their children’s hair, as well. Going from big city living to small town living has given me the opportunity to establish a community of which I’m proud to be a part. My cardiology colleagues also count as family and I’m very proud of the work that we do to serve our community.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
I’ve now played the viola with Glacier Symphony for nearly 20 years.
I’ve been fortunate to travel internationally and have worked with many foreign nationals through my mother’s foreign language company. I am pleased to always find commonality between people wherever I go.
A recent joy was walking the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and Spain. My mother and I walked 180 miles from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It’s a journey that we continue to remember fondly.
Article as seen at 406Woman.com