Mandy Blumer says the best thing about her new job is that she can be grown up and still not be compelled to decide what she wants to be when she grows up.
“If I get bored with family practice, I can go to cardiology,” Blumer said. “If I get bored with cardiology, I can go to internal medicine. If I get bored with that, I can go to pediatrics. Being a physician assistant gives you tons of flexibility. The other great thing is, you don’t have to be on call, you don’t have to work weekends—you can actually have a life.”
The 2005 Maranatha graduate completed her master’s degree from Marquette University’s Physician Assistant program May 23 and passed her Wisconsin state board examination June 1. She found employment almost immediately in what Blumer called an “exploding” job market, landing a job at Lake Country Pediatrics in Oconomowoc, Wis.
“I got on the fast track into medicine,” Blumer said.
A physician assistant can perform almost any function of a normal doctor, other than major surgery, but must work under a supervising physician.
Blumer, a General Studies major and Science minor, spent two years as a nursing assistant before enrolling at Marquette. She said her Maranatha studies more than prepared her for Marquette’s rigorous three-year program.
“I did re-take some classes at Marquette, and I thought all of them were taught way better at Maranatha,” Blumer said. “Marquette is a big name, but I thought I got an even better education at a smaller college.”
Blumer returned to Maranatha’s campus in May as a guest speaker in Dr. Yingguang Liu’s Genetics class. She lectured on chromosome banding and answered questions from the students about her career field.
The three-year women’s soccer letterwinner for the Crusaders learned a lesson about combining medicine and ministry during a practical experience visit to Belize.
“There were students from Britain who were atheists, and they had a lot of questions about what I believed and why,” Blumer said. “It was a great opportunity to sit around the dinner table and talk about my faith. The patients in Belize spoke English and were curious about anything American. I was able to spend a lot of time with one girl, talking to her about salvation by grace through faith rather than works.”
Blumer said she is excited to see the expansion of Maranatha’s Nursing and Science programs, and hopes the next generation of graduates will be able to use medical careers to demonstrate Christian compassion and share a sincere faith with others.
“People will see you as an authority, so they listen to you a little better,” Blumer said. “But, if you want to get through to them, the best way is to build a relationship. That gives both your counseling and your witnessing a lot more pull.”
--Posted July 6, 2010