Care Provider Focus:
Newest provider may not be here on her first day
Ann Lower, ARNP has been looking for just the right position in a family practice clinic since she and her husband moved here from the East Coast three years ago. Scheduled to begin work when the expansion at Smokey Point Family Medicine (now Cascade Valley Smokey Point Clinic) is completed, Ann was to sign contracts and tour Cascade Valley Hospital on September 11. The contracts were signed, and Ann did tour the hospital, but the events of that infamous day put her actual start date up in the air.
Ann is the Training Officer for the 446th Aeromedical Patient Staging Squadron, US Air Force Reserves, out of McChord Air Force Base. Also serving as the squadron's Readiness Officer, she will be the first to know if her squadron is called into duty. While she waits, Ann is doing all she can to make sure everyone in her squadron is prepared to leave. From checking on immunization records to asking them if they have their will in order and have found someone to feed their dog, she wants them prepared.
For the past several years Ann has also spent several months a year as an observer/controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Shreveport, LA, the Army's premier training center for light infantry and special operations units. Along with the Air Force and other military services, as well as civilian personnel, the training is uniquely realistic.
"This is where they play war for real," explains Ann. "The tanks, helicopters, and enemy troops, they are all there and shooting at each other--using laser of course.
"My job there is to mentor the Air Force component and keep the games on track. I have seen squadrons that make me feel confident about what our nation may be heading for. There are others that I don't feel are as prepared for what they will see."
Since the Gulf War our nation has been downsizing the military. Today 49 percent of the forces are reserves. These men and women do the job they hold in the military every day in civilian life. Reservists hold a large portion of the medical and support positions in particular, all waiting for the day they are needed.
And so Ann too waits for the call. But, will it be to an AirVac tent in the middle of the desert, or to a busy family practice clinic in Smokey Point?
Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes only. It should not replace a visit with your health care professional. Call your doctor if you need more information or have additional questions.