{"64639":{"#nid":"64639","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Medical Director Isn\u2019t Afraid of Reinvention","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s never too late to try your hand at another career \u2014 just ask Dr. Maureen Olson.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI spent several years teaching elementary school and working as a media specialist at the middle school level,\u201d said Olson, who is now medical director of Stamps Health Services. \u201cBut I always wanted to be a doctor, so I decided to enroll in medical school and became one.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOlson graduated from the Morehouse School of Medicine and completed her postdoctoral residency at the Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a doctor, Olson became active in both state and national medical organizations, serving as president of the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians and on the national council and several other committees for the American College of Emergency Physicians.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle sat down with Olson to learn more about her experiences while working at Tech. Here\u2019s what she said:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo, how did you end up working at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EAbout a year and a half ago, I broke both of my ankles. Before my injury, I was working one full-time and two part-time jobs. One shift brought me to the health center at Tech, which I thought was great, since one of my sons had attended school here. After my injury, I worked more frequently at Tech, which led to me being offered my current position (which I started in February 2010).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does your job entail?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EI spend most mornings working in the clinic and afternoons are spent doing administrative work and at meetings. I\u2019ve also started a few new programs, including the Ambassadors Club and a mentoring group (where students shadow Health Center physicians). Both are for pre-health majors. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you enjoy most about your job? What do you enjoy least about it, and how do you make the least-favorite aspect bearable?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EI enjoy the energetic atmosphere at Tech. If I had to pick something, I\u2019d say that my least- favorite aspect of this job is the pressure of deadlines. To stay sane, I just try to do a little at a time and not get overwhelmed \u2014 and a chocolate bar helps, too.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat piece of technology could you not live without?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EMy iPhone and the FaceTime app, which is a lot like Skype. That app is going to come in really handy in the near future, because my first grandchild is due this week. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are three things everyone should do while working at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EGo to a football or basketball game. Walk around campus in the spring and look at the dogwoods and azaleas in bloom. Go to the Ferst Center \u2014 even though I haven\u2019t done this yet, it\u2019s on my to-do list.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best place to grab lunch (on or off campus), and what do you order?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EMiller Union, and I\u2019ll order anything with chocolate in it or a sandwich or burger, and Flip, where the burgers are pretty good.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell me something surprising about yourself.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EChocolate is the way to my heart \u2014 plain, dark chocolate. Oh, and I still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and leprechauns with pots of gold. I\u2019m really just a kid at heart.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you weren\u2019t in your current occupation, what would you be doing?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EI\u2019d be a travel photographer.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s never too late to try your hand at another career \u2014 just ask Dr. Maureen Olson.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"It\u2019s never too late to try your hand at another career \u2014 just ask Dr. Maureen Olson."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-02-25 13:56:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:18","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"64640":{"id":"64640","type":"image","title":"Maureen Olson","body":null,"created":"1449176753","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:53","changed":"1475894569","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:49","alt":"Maureen Olson","file":{"fid":"192059","name":"Maureen.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Maureen_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Maureen_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3442997,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Maureen_0.jpg?itok=wBm5Rb_m"}}},"media_ids":["64640"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12146","name":"Maureen Olson"},{"id":"12147","name":"medical director"},{"id":"167128","name":"Stamps Health Services"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}