by Vickie Jenkins – Writer/Photographer
SSM Health Outpatient Center in Urgent Care is where you will find Kelly Dugan, MLRT. “We stay busy most of the time,” Kelly said. “Working in several areas, I like working in Urgent Care the best, I like the fast-pace of it all. We deal with a lot of different kinds of elements and different situations and I feel like I am able to take care of the patient right away. There is such a variety of things going on, all at once and sometimes, it can be overwhelming! I never know who is going to show up or what kind of problem they will have. I find working in urgent care very interesting,” Kelly explained. “Even though this is a small center, a lot of people would much rather come here than go to a big hospital. Patients from several surrounding areas come here; Moore, Shawnee and Edmond. I think most patients would prefer to come to a smaller place anyway. We are concerned about our patients and take care of them as quickly as we can.”
Growing up in northwest Oklahoma in the small town of Lahoma, Kelly knew that she wanted to work in the medical field when she graduated. “Actually, when I was little, I really wanted to be Wonder Woman. I had the Wonder Woman under-roos and everything,” she said. “Of course, my Wonder Woman days are over now or are they? I might be the new version,” she said with a laugh. “When I was growing up, I had a lot of friends that were nurses and I suppose that influenced my life a lot. That was back when I was in my twenties and all of my friends were in their twenties so in a way, it seemed like a natural progression to us,” she explained.
What is your favorite part of your job? “I like helping the patients with their immediate needs. The patients like that too and afterwards, they are ready to enjoy the rest of their week!”
What is your biggest challenge at work? “The biggest challenge that I deal with here at work is trying to make everyone happy at the same time. Do you realize how hard that is to do?”
Asking Kelly to describe herself, she replied, “I take great pride in being well organized about everything. “I know this might surprise a few people around here,” she said with a smile, but I really am big on organization. I can multi-task too,” she added.
“I am very goal oriented and set my goals high, ready to move forward. I can deal with the patient’s pretty well, most of them anyway. There is always that one patient that wants to stir things up a little. When I am at work, I try to add a little fun to everything. Come to think of it, when I’m not at work, I try to add a little fun to it. I guess that means I like to have fun!”
What motivates you every day? “I have a drive to do things for other people. I also make sure to do things the right way the first time. I try to be efficient too. I think that I feel that way because of my former jobs. One of my first jobs was working in a dentist office and then, I worked in an OR in a hospital. I guess I felt like I had to do things right the first time,” she said with a laugh. “Of course, that is the way it should be!”
Asking Kelly how she deals with the patients that come in to urgent care, she replied, “I feel like I handle the situations pretty well. At first, the patients are scared and they don’t know what to expect and they are overwhelmed. After a few minutes, they start to relax and open up a little. Each patient is different, yet they are the same in every emergency situation. It takes some patients a little longer to warm up to explain what is going on. After I explain what we are going to do, suddenly I am like their best friend.”
When not working, Kelly likes spending time with the love of her life; Hazel, her Basset hound. Kelly’s hobbies include running, camping, kayaking and anything that has to do with the outdoors.
Asking Kelly to sum up her life in just one word, she paused for a moment and said, “Satisfied.”
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