“Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know” is a phrase that I’m sure we’ve all heard at some point and has definitely been true a few times in my life. I find myself making sure that whatever situation or experience that I go through, I come out of it accomplishing two main things; one being to complete what I set out to do, and the other being to connect with at least one person in the process. In this particular case, one of my best and oldest friends (who is now my wife) ended up being the connection that introduced me to the field of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring.
After navigating my way through basic training and Officer Candidate school, I returned home as a brand-new 2nd Lieutenant in the Georgia Army National Guard. I was sure that I would be starting the application process for PA school following my return and working concurrently until I received a call one afternoon. “What do you know about Neuromonitoring? I have a possible job opportunity for you” is how the conversation started. This particular call came from a woman that I’d known my entire life, a nurse for 30+ years and a woman that I called “mom” well before she became my mother-in-law. I had honestly never heard of the job/field in my life, but was instantly interested because I knew that it aligned with my intentions on working in the medical field and ultimately being able to help people, and anything starting with “neuro” sounded super important.
I ended up doing some research, prayed and knew that this was for me. I reached out in hopes of landing the job and was offered an interview in return. After a few (ok, maybe more than a few) follow up emails and phone calls, I was offered a position as a clinician’s assistant! I was ecstatic because I felt that this was where I was supposed to be and that has since proven to be true. After countless hours of surgical cases, classroom/on the job training, mentoring sessions, two rounds of CNIM prep and a 4-5 month long hiatus for additional military training in between, I obtained my Certification in Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring. It’s been quite a journey, but I am thoroughly enjoying my time as a clinician and I’m excited for the future of IOM. The fact that I have a career that allows me to help people is something that I’m grateful for and to hear the post-treatment success stories make it all worth it.
Thank you Philip and Neurodiagnostic Consultants!