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Get to Know our SRH Staff: Carrie Wilson, Ambulatory Care

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Carrie Wilson, Ambulatory Care

by | Jan 10, 2020 | Clubfoot & Foot Disorders

What is your role at the hospital? 

I am the RN coordinator for Dr. Richards and I also assist with Dr. Sucato’s scoliosis clinic. My primary role is providing education to patients and families, as well as helping to get patients ready for surgery to make sure medical clearances are obtained. One day to the next is never the same!

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite for Children?
The patients and their families!

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here? How long have you worked here?
My very first job was as a lifeguard when I was in high school. During college, I had several different jobs. I worked at a restaurant in the summers (where I met my husband to be), I worked for a stockbroker and I worked at Dillard’s.

I started at the hospital during my last semester at Texas Woman’s University. I was initially a nurse tech and then after I graduated, I was hired as a full-time inpatient nurse. As of this month, I have worked here for 32 years and I’ve been the RN coordinator for Dr. Richards for the past 22 years.

What are you currently watching on Netflix?

Call the Midwife
Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?

Jerry Jones (owner of the Dallas Cowboys) – although I don’t think he could handle my job if we had to “swap”!
What is a fun or interesting fact about your hometown?My hometown is Des Plaines, Illinois. It is the home of the first McDonald’s franchise.
What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
Watching football and spending time with my family.

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Chetna Godiwala, Rheumatology

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Chetna Godiwala, Rheumatology

by | Nov 18, 2019 | Spotlight

What is your role at the hospital? 
I am a researcher for the Rheumatology department. I specifically work on the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) registry. The CARRA registry seeks to understand the epidemiology, outcomes, etiology and biology of pediatric rheumatic diseases such as systemic supus erythematosus, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and juvenile dermatomyositis.
                                                                                 
What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite Hospital?
I enjoy hearing about the success stories that have happened since the inception of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. I take pride in working at a hospital that gives the best care to its patients, with or without their ability to pay. I believe that every child should have the best childhood regardless of the medical diagnosis. And being part of the Scottish Rite Hospital team definitely helps make this a reality for our young patients!  
 
What was your first job? What path did you take to get here? How long have you worked here?
My first job was tutoring kids while I was in high school and college. Teaching has always been a passion of mine. The moment that I am able to help a student understand a concept is the most rewarding for me. This translates to my job today at the hospital. As a researcher, I am helping kids and families affected with rheumatoid diseases by collecting their outcomes to prescribed medications and correlate with their disease activity so we can one day find a cure. I have worked here for almost three months, and I have enjoyed every moment!
 
What are you currently watching on Netflix?
I am currently re-watching episodes of New Girl. The cast has a great chemistry and I’m always up for a good laugh.
 
Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?
If I were to swap places for a day, it would be probably with anyone from the TV show Friends. I love each of the characters and it would be kind of fun to hang out at a coffee shop all day.
 
What is a fun or interesting fact about your hometown?
I have lived most of my life in California. Not only is it my hometown, but also the home of Walt Disney Studios. My sister and I had Disneyland passes while we were in college and I would go almost monthly with a different group of friends. My favorite thing was to watch the show World of Color during the winter months, while drinking hot chocolate and eating their amazing churros. If you haven’t been yet, you must check it out. That combination is amazing for the California winter months.
What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not working? 
I love to get a good workout in and spend time with my husband, family and friends. My husband and I also love traveling together. Our next destination is Spain in May 2020 and we absolutely cannot wait. I also am a certified BollyX instructor, which is a HIIT workout. 

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Anthony I. Riccio, M.D.

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Anthony I. Riccio, M.D.

by | Nov 11, 2019 | Spotlight

Where did you go to college? Medical school? 
I earned my undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and attended medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.
 
You had an internship at National Naval Medical Center General Surgery – can you explain your time and training there?
In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, orthopedic residents were still required to complete a one-year general surgery internship prior to beginning their orthopedic training. As I attended medical school under the support of the Naval Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), I was required to complete that intern year in a military medical facility. Since NNMC was right up the road from Georgetown (where I had attended medical school and where I would be completing my orthopedic residency), it seemed like the perfect place to do my internship.
From an educational standpoint, the general surgery internship itself was really no different than any civilian internship. I learned the fundamentals of surgical and medical management that are necessary for care of orthopedic patients. I worked in the surgical ICU, on multiple general surgery services, the cardiothoracic service and with the vascular surgery team among other rotations. As a military intern, I was also required to learn “military readiness” by doing things such as spending a month performing field medicine for the marines at Marine Corps Base Quantico, running most mornings with my regimen and earning my rifle and sidearm qualifications. 

How long were you in the Navy? 
I was commissioned in 1995 and discharged in 2010, so technically I was in for 15 years. Most of this time was spent on Inactive Ready Reserve, while I completed my medical education and training. I was on active duty for five years altogether: one as an intern and four as an attending surgeon.
How did that impact you as a doctor? 
My Navy time impacted me in many ways, but more than anything, I learned the true value of being part of something that was far bigger and more important than myself. I served during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and took care of countless wounded warriors, all of whom made incredible sacrifices for our country, our freedom and our families.

My role and contribution was so small compared to what they were doing overseas and just a tiny part of a greater mission to liberate people from oppression abroad. It instilled in me a certain humility that I try to carry with me into every patient encounter I have to this day. It also made me realize that the biggest impact I could have as a physician was in the service of a meaningful mission. The only mission I’ve believed in as much as that of our wartime military was the mission of Scottish Rite Hospital. Hence, when the opportunity came to return, the decision was a no brainer.

Why did you want to become a doctor? Have you always wanted to work in pediatric orthopedics?
I initially wanted to become a college professor to teach and study moral and epistemological development during adolescence. I was advised by my college mentor to do this through the route of medical school and then psychiatry. 
During medical school, I was exposed to orthopedic surgery and realized that it was a far better fit for me than psychiatry. The orthopedic residency director at Georgetown was a pediatric orthopedic surgeon named Jack Delahay. He was the greatest teacher I’ve even met. Though he was incredibly intimidating, he was also very inspiring. Jack took me under his wing during medical school and residency. I credit him fully for turning me on to pediatric orthopedic surgery.  
What led you to Scottish Rite Hospital?
I think it’s the dream of every former fellow to one day have the opportunity to return and work at Scottish Rite Hospital alongside those staff who mentored and supported us throughout fellowship. But in all honesty, I never thought I’d be one of the few who was given that opportunity. Dr. Herring was aware that a huge part of my clinical practice with the Navy was caring for service men and women with war related extremity trauma. As my naval commitment was winding down, he called one day and asked if I’d consider coming back to apply the knowledge I’d gained towards managing and researching pediatric orthopedic trauma. As far as I know, no one had ever said no to Dr. Herring and I wasn’t about to be the first!
 
How long have you worked at Scottish Rite Hospital? 
Almost 10 years as staff.
 
What are your specialties? 
Though I started out focusing exclusively on pediatric orthopedic traumatology, my practice has shifted over the years and my current interests include clubfoot along with other infantile foot deformities as well adolescent/young adult foot and ankle deformity.
 
How do you help your patients feel comfortable and confident? 
I really don’t do anything special. I just be myself – not just with patients but with everyone. When patients, parents and colleagues know that they’re getting the “real you” in every situation, it eliminates barriers to communication, puts folks at ease and allows for an open and honest interchange of thoughts and concerns. 

What is your favorite part of your job?
Teaching residents and fellows.

What was your first job?
My first job was as pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Naval Medical Center San Diego. 

I was there on active duty for over four years, during which time I also took on the role of Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program director and became the Director of the Pediatric Orthopaedic and Scoliosis Surgery division.

Tell us something that might surprise us about you:
I’ve been on Saturday Night Live multiple times. Take a look at some re-runs from the late nineties through 2007 or so, chances are you can find me.

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Molly McGuire, Research

Get to Know our SRH Staff: Molly McGuire, Research

by | Mar 26, 2019 | Spotlight

What is your role at the hospital? What do you do on a daily basis? 
My job involves working with teams of surgeon-researchers and coordinators all over the world to collect data about patients they treat for Perthes disease, a rare disease that impacts formation of the hip. We then study this information to understand the phenomenon of Perthes disease and help families. The organization is called the International Perthes Study Group. I help this multicenter research effort by coordinating legal, regulatory, communications and operational aspects of enrollment and data monitoring. I also recruit our own hospital patients for various Perthes-related research projects.  

What led you to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children? How long have you worked here?
I was an academic research coordinator at UT Southwestern. Prior to that, I was in Lima, Peru working on grant-funded research for the University of Pennsylvania and Tulane University. I have been at the hospital for one year, and I’m loving it!  

What do you enjoy most about Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children?
My co-workers and colleagues energize and humble me and are the best part of the job.  

What was your first job? 
I was a lifeguard during a shift no one else wanted – 5-9 a.m.in the morning.  

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I spend as much time as I can in the company of my dog, and I play on a recreational women’s soccer team.  

Three words to best describe you:
Studious, committed and adventurous  

What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?
Professor or CIA, can’t decide.  

What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
I served in the Peace Corps.

Learn more about the research conducted in the Center for Excellence in Hip.