Pam Sherman serves as assistant to Jannette Collins, MD, chair of the department of radiology at the UC College of Medicine, a department with more than 265 employees, including 38 clinical faculty who practice at hospitals throughout the UC Health system. Here, she tells us why she enjoys the multi-faceted nature of her role
How long have you been with UC and, specifically, with the UC Department of Radiology?
"I started both UC and radiology on March 1, 2009. Dr. Collins hired me right after she began her duties as chair of radiology.
Why were you interested in your current role?
"Previous to my immediate past position, I worked at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center for more than five years and felt health care was a good place to return.
Why do you enjoy the position?
"I enjoy the wide variety of responsibilities and the contact with a wide variety of people. I am very much a people person, and I enjoy interacting with people. I also enjoy the challenges this position provides.
Describe an average day in the life as assistant to the chair of radiology.
"I quickly learned there is no average day. My responsibilities range from handling the usual administrative responsibilities such as setting up meetings for Dr. Collins to working with a furniture vendor for the departments renovation. I work closely with our facilities director on the departments facility renovations, which are just about completed.
"After the chair contacts a prospective faculty, I am the next contact for prospective faculty, arranging the interview, the schedule, their accommodations, and anything else in-between, including a real estate agent.
"As part of my responsibilities, I supervise the administrative assistants for the department section chiefs and the program assistants. It is not unusual in one day for me to meet with one or all of the assistants, escort prospective faculty around the campus to interviews, meet with the facilities director about some issue with the renovation and handle an problems with cleanliness or other housekeeping-related issues.
"I manage the UC Radiology website and helped finalize the various Web pages within the site after it was developed by the UC Academic Health Centers public relations team. I pretty much do anything that Dr. Collins requests of me.
Tell us about your career history.
"I began working right out of high school as a secretary. In 1978, I secured a position as the assistant to the administrator of Clermont Mercy Hospital, eventually becoming the medical staff secretary. I left for a position closer to home where I was the executive secretary for the director of GI at Cincinnati Childrens. In 1985, I moved to Dayton and a year later began working at the University of Dayton, becoming the assistant director of a profit center that did consulting work for corporations, mostly in the arena of marketing research. I eventually ran all of the marketing research activities in the call center, developing training guides for research interviewers, protocols for research, and managing the overall operations of the call center.
"Due to the 2008 recession, the call center was closed and I was forced to retire, but I could not retire yet. I began looking for another position, and decided to come back to my health care roots and applied for the position of assistant for the chair of UC radiology. It is a move I am truly thankful I made. I love everything about working in radiology and for Dr. Collins."
Can you share something about yourself that people may not know?
"I lived in Portland, Oregon for over two years, leaving a little over a year before Mount St. Helens erupted.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
"I love to read and spend time with my grandchildren. If I am not reading or listening to an audiobook on my iPod, I am at a function for one of seven grandchildren which can include theater, ballet, football or basketball games or something with cheerleading or Girl Scouts. My grandchildren range in age from 17 down to 10 months.
Focus On highlights faculty, staff, students and researchers at the UC Academic Health Center. To suggest someone to be featured, please email uchealthnews@uc.edu.
