Alumni Career Feature
Deborah Potter
We feature alumni with interesting careers from a variety of career areas. To find out more about the alumnus profession contact them via the e-mail provided. Or if you are interested in being featured, e-mail us at alumni@pct.edu.
Deborah Potter
- A.A.S., Office Technology - Medical Emphasis, 2001
- Susquehanna Health System
- dpotter1@comcast.net
After raising a family and working with her husband’s trucking business, Deborah decided to return to school to earn her degree. She has always had an interest in forensic science and wanted to be in the health field. Deciding she wanted a behind-the-scenes position instead of working with the patients directly, she intended to earn her degree in Surgical Technology. That degree was not offered locally at the time, so she decided on the Office Technology – Medical Emphasis program.
Her decision to return to school would create a lot of changes for Deborah and her family. As for many non-traditional students, finding the time to care for a family, maintain a home, and keep up with schoolwork was difficult. She managed to act as team mother for her son’s baseball teams, Boy Scouts den leader, and as a volunteer at their school. Deborah often found herself studying while waiting in the grocery line and during baseball and basketball games. Her home office was located in her laundry room. If she wanted to take a break from the books, she could just turn around and fold the laundry.
Her time management and study skills paid off; she earned her degree and is currently in a job she loves – working in the pathology lab as a medical secretary at the Williamsport Campus of the Susquehanna Health System.
In her current position, Deborah has the opportunity to do a variety of tasks. While she does answer the telephone and perform other clerical-related tasks, she also gets to work closely with all types of medical specimens. In a normal day it is possible that she could be sending a bone marrow sample, kidney, heart, or even a brain sample to Washington, D.C., Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, or even as far away as California. She sends paraffin specimen blocks and glass slides to other facilities for evaluation and second opinions. She also works closely with the doctors by helping with paperwork and research to ensure that proper tests are being ordered to adequately diagnose the patient.
As if she’s not busy enough, Deborah is also involved in the Hospital’s Lab Week Committee. This is a national program that annually recognizes and celebrates lab workers. The Committee creates new and fun ways to recognize the lab staff. As Deborah points out, “Lab workers are the behind the scenes heroes.” She is also working on creating an employee-of-the-month program. Although the health system has an overall employee of the month program for all three campuses, Deborah and the other committee members want to recognize the various lab workers on a more regular basis.
Her employer also encourages additional training and learning. This is no problem for Deborah; she has a passion for learning. She keeps up with her CPR training and has taken a course on how to properly package the specimens she ships out. In accordance with the Department of Transportation governing bodies, all specimens have to be packaged in three layers of protective covering to prevent damage or leakage. The packages also must contain a material safety data sheet in case there is some type of damage to the shipment that could potentially be dangerous to the public.
Deborah offered some advice for those interested in obtaining a degree. She stressed that to get the most out of the college experience, one must stay focused and be willing to work. Also, being a medical secretary requires a love for both the health field and the office environment. And probably most importantly, one must be willing to learn continually – never be afraid to ask.
While Deborah loves her job, she would like to continue her education in the future. She may even start working toward a Surgical Technology degree or look into taking classes in forensics. She definitely considers herself a lifelong learner and will continue to better herself.
