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#1. What made you decide to specialize in ear, nose, and throat care?
Kelly: Well, I originally, actually out of PA school, wanted to be in primary care. And I met some people, and one of the other PAs that I went to school with started in head and neck cancer at the Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ of Cincinnati, actually, and she told me of this job. And I actually was doing neurotology, so only ears, and I interviewed for it and loved the people that I worked with. I found it incredibly interesting and intricate, and so here I am now, 16 years later, still doing ear, nose, and throat. So I find it really rewarding and totally interesting.
Interviewer: Kind of stumbled into it a little bit, huh?
Kelly: A little bit, yeah. It wasn't my initial choice, but I've done it for a long time now, so I really like it.
#2. If you could give people a piece of advice to keep their ears, nose, or throat healthy, what would it be?
To keep their ears healthy, it is to not use Q-tips and use noise protection. That is going to be probably your . . . Yeah, those are going to be the best things for your ears over time. Yes.
#3. What's one common mistake people make when they're trying to treat their own ear, nose, or throat issues at home?
Kelly: Oh, boy. You know, the aisle at the pharmacy that's for all the medications that you would take when you have a cold or you're treating allergies, I feel like there are some people who go and buy all kinds of things and try multiple different things and have a hard time choosing the right option for what's going on with them.
Interviewer: Got it. Yeah, there is a lot of stuff there, and when you try to self, you know, pick out, like, what you need, that's something you could help with, an ENT could help with.
Kelly: Oh, 100%, can help guide you a little bit better on the proper use of these things and the proper choice.
#4. In your opinion, what makes a great ENT provider stand out?
I don't know that this is particular to ENT, but really to any provider, is just listening. I had a mentor once tell me if you let patients talk long enough, eventually they will tell you what their problem is. And so listening and giving them the time to explain things is really important because, eventually, they start to really narrow it down for you in terms of diagnosis.
#5. What's your favorite part of what you do?
Honestly, I love that it's not the same all the time. There are always different patient personalities. The problems are always different. Each day is never the same, which makes it really exciting and fun to come to work to engage with people like that.
#6. Tell me why physician assistants are awesome.
I think a common thing that I hear from patients is that physician assistants are able to take more time in their visits, and I definitely know in my practice that's true. I try to take my time, and so I think overall that makes PAs awesome.
#7. Update the cliché for me: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. What actually keeps the doctor away?
I would say overall, a healthy diet and exercise are going to keep the doctor away for sure.
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