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Caitlin Copa is a Valley Medical and Wellness success story. A former medical assistant at Valley Medical, Caitlin recently got accepted into Midwestern University’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downer’s Grove, Illinois. Valley Medical helped her get there.
Caitlin joined Valley Medical in October 2020 and worked through July 2022, working with both chronic pain and addiction patients. During her time at Valley Medical, she assisted several different providers, but worked especially closely with Dr. Ashwin George, the clinic’s co-founder and CEO. Caitlin says Dr. George took her under his wing and considered her his “right-hand man.”
“Working with Dr. George was awesome,” Caitlin relates. “He’s brilliant and a really good mentor.”
Caitlin says that one of the most important things her mentors at Valley Medical taught her was critical thinking and how to solve problems in the moment. She considers her time at Valley Medical as “like a mini-medical school,” due to how much she learned in a short period of time. She says that her time at Valley Medical taught her how to deal with patients with kindness and grace, important traits when working with difficult patients.
“Dr. George taught me how to provide a high level of compassionate care,” Caitlin says. “I came to Valley Medical with some clinical experience but not much patient skill. Working at Valley Medical helped me gain compassion and the ability to help patients in need.”
Caitlin says that being a medical assistant at Valley Medical was hard work, but it also prepared her for her future career in the medical profession. She stresses that the experience she gained at Valley Medical was key to helping her get into medical school.
“The more time you spend with patients, the more you learn. And, at Valley Medical, the more responsibility you get.”
Caitlin is still working as a medical assistant and scribe as she prepares for the start of medical school this summer. She’s not sure what she wants to be when she gets her degree—”I’m just keeping it open,” she says. She knows that she likes a fast-paced environment, so that might influence her future career plans. Caitlin wants to help patients feel empowered and be more knowledgeable about the healthcare decisions they make.
Valley Medical was honored to have Caitlin work in our clinic and are proud to see her advance in her medical career. It’s just one more example of how working at Valley Medical helps young medical professionals gain work and life experience that they’ll use throughout their lives.
Any prospective medical assistants who are interested in working at Valley Medical and furthering their education should contact the VMW human resources department at hr@valleymedical.com. We're always looking for new people to join our team!
