Top PA Graduate Joins Clinic
Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Tamra Morrow
Drop-in patients have a new option at Mercy Health/Love County clinic.
A physician assistant has joined the clinic specifically for sick people who are unable to obtain a same-day appointment with their regular practitioner.
“We welcome walk-in patients. They can now be seen in the clinic instead of going to the emergency room most weekdays,” said clinic director Connie Barker.
For most convenience, patients can arrange a same-day appointment with the new PA by calling 276-2400, Barker added.
Tamra Morrow brings elite credentials to the job. The Ardmore native graduated in December 2009 at the top of her class from the PA program at the OU Health Sciences Center.
She was one of only two students to make straight A’s in the demanding curriculum of physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology – about 75% of what first and second year medical students cover. She received a Master of Health Practice degree.
Physician assistants are trained to make decisions, diagnose, and treat, but always practice under a physician-supervisor.
Dr. Larry D. Powell is Morrow’s supervising physician.
During clinical training, Morrow did rotations in Norman, Ardmore, and Lawton in specialties such as orthopedics, cardiovascular surgery, urology, and eye/ear/nose/throat.
But, in the end, general practice in a small town won her heart, mainly, she said, as the result of a definitive rotation at Mercy Health/Love County emergency room last summer.
Arduous 24-72 hour shifts gave her extensive “hands-on” experience, from ambulance rides, to suturing, to confronting a wide variety of illnesses and injuries.
“I learned more here than in the 13 months of clinical rotations in PA school. Tad Hall, Dr. O’Connor, and the other physicians encouraged me to make decisions and be self-reliant,” Morrow said.
She appreciated the paramedics and ER nurses for their skill and their willingness to share knowledge. “Everyone here is good with questions, and I have no problem asking for help,” Morrow said.
Besides the medicine she “fell in love with the place. I like the mentality of the hospital, the teamwork. This is more of a family than a workplace. I was excited to be offered the fulltime position and the people here welcomed me back.”
Morrow earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Oklahoma in 2005. She also holds an associate’s degree in science from Murray State College.
While at OU, she joined the pre-PA club and logged 100 hours job-shadowing physician assistants to learn more about the profession.
She volunteered for four years at Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, spending play time with children undergoing cancer treatments.
Tamra (Stewart) Morrow graduated from Plainview High School in 1999. She married Shane Morrow of Dickson in 2004. They live in Ardmore.