Him to help me figure it out , no matter what I was supposed to do .”
With this , she tried to get a job as a microbiologist at the water department and on her way in met a woman who had just quit . When Dr . Evans asked why she quit , the woman told her , “ I ’ m going to medical school . I ’ m going to be a doctor .” They exchanged numbers and stayed in contact , eventually studying for the MCAT together . Dr . Evans didn ’ t get that job , but in another interview saw a quote on the wall that said , “ To rest on the road does not end the journey .” Now her motto to live by , it struck her and reminded her that she could still reach her goals , even if they looked different than she planned . As she progressed through that job while prepping for the MCAT again , that quote came back to bite the manager – and inspired Dr . Evans .
“ The guy that hired me told me that even though I had the best review scores he ’ d ever given anyone , he docked me points because my kid got sick twice and I took care of my kid . Unfortunately for him , that kind of peeved me and it was the fuel that made me go back to medical school . In fact , I used that quote from his office in the opener of my application to medical school .”
She got accepted to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and moved to Lexington . She expected to pursue gynecology or pediatrics but found they weren ’ t fits . Maybe radiology ? Nope . After a transitional internship year at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati , she returned to UK for an internal medicine residency .
Now with three kids , she and Rodney wanted to create stability for their children and stayed in Lexington after she finished residency in 2006 . Knowing that she wanted a community-minded practice , she began working at a Federally Qualified Health Clinic in Richmond , Kentucky .
“ I knew even in college that I wanted a holistic approach to patients and care . I compare it to a Meijer store , one-stop shopping . I felt like care and how people got care could be the same thing ,” she said . “ When I became a parent , if I ’ d get sick and my kid would get sick , having a place where I could get everything in one place became super important . I wanted to work in a community setting like that .”
With that community in mind , when gas prices began to soar , she realized that her patients in Madison County were having a hard time getting to their specialists in Lexington . After meeting a mentor at the Diabetes Center for Excellence , a new career focus was born .
“ I became a diabetologist . It ’ s like an endocrinologist who manages high-level diabetics , but just not the other endocrine stuff . I became kind of an expert in diabetes care because that population had a lack of access , and I got quite a reputation for myself . I am one of the State Department of Public Health ’ s State Physician Champion for Diabetes Self-Management , Education and Support .” She stayed in Richmond for several years before
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