I am a lover of learning, and as one of the newest employees at COEM I can easily say that I am able to learn something new and exciting EVERY SINGLE DAY. I have spent the larger part of my life educating young adults and helping them to discover where their interests may direct them as they depart the secondary education system. Though this gave me great pleasure, I knew it was time for a change. I also knew I wanted to find a place where I would be able to use my skills as an educator, feel challenged, motivated, and appreciated in my working environment, and where I would be able to continue helping others in meaningful ways. It has been a blessing to have been offered a Clinician position at COEM, and an absolute pleasure to know I am fulfilling my own personal aspirations. The sheer brilliance among our Doctors and staff members is astounding – which keeps me on my feet and leaves me wanting to know more and more with each passing day. “Learning” here at COEM is a large part of our daily routine!
The ways in which we each learn and exactly what we learn vary greatly among us all at COEM. One thing is for certain: we all learn from one another and work as a team to provide insight – contributing fresh ideas and perspectives that benefit one another and most importantly, our patients. We meet as a staff every morning to problem-shoot any issues and to note any changes that need to be made. We also meet in our departments once a week, which provides us the opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences and offer up any advice that may prove to be helpful to the practice. As a Clinician I have been blessed to have had one-on-one tutorials with Charlotte, who never gives herself enough credit for her incredibly endearing character and genuinely kind-hearted nature (not to mention her unique ability to answer just about any question I can throw at her). I cannot thank her enough for being my teacher/mentor throughout these last few weeks – she is truly an indispensable asset to COEM and has taught me more in the last month than I think I have learned in the last year! I am also grateful for the patience and warmth shown to me by all of our other COEM staff members as I have been learning “the ropes” around here. Everyone has been so helpful in steering me in the right direction and I sincerely appreciate their time and effort in assisting me throughout this learning process.
Our Doctors offer such a wide range of knowledge and experience. Both Dr. Lieberman and Dr. McDaniel are so careful to listen closely to the symptoms and concerns of our patients while providing them with a wealth of information regarding current treatment options and future health plans. I am amazed each time I finish reading a patient’s history and begin to note the Dr.’s recommendations, as I am reminded daily of how it once felt to sit in a lecture hall and absorb the brilliance that came from any one of my professors at William Smith. It is such a unique experience to listen to the many inspirational stories Dr. Lieberman can tell based on so many years of working in the medical field. When he begins to say “now let me tell you a story about this” I immediately envision his brain opening – much as a file cabinet would do – and a file is chosen from the thousands of existing files being stored there. The file is selected to precisely relate to the current patient’s case. It is informative, oftentimes entertaining, but most importantly it is tremendously helpful to the patient, as it provides them with evidence of success and hope after what could be years of on-going frustration. Dr. McDaniel never ceases to amaze me when providing his patients with witty, useful analogies that enable them to see their various concerns/treatment in a clear, unambiguous way. His sense of humor often helps his patients to relax and his wealth of knowledge provides them with the confidence in which they need to proceed. It is an honor to work with such brilliant, compassionate Doctors and to learn from them each day.
I feel blessed to be working at COEM and to be continuing my passion for learning. I know that this newfound knowledge will enable me to make a positive, lasting impression on the lives of our patients.