Patient Interaction Never Grows Old for Ten-Year Veteran of Medical Assisting Field: Story from American National University

​As clinical team lead at Seasons of Bristol, Candace Gracia enjoys caring for her patients—from teens, to expectant mothers, to women in their senior years. “We take care of every season of a woman’s life,” she explained.

A former stay-at-home mom, Candace was ready to begin the next season of her own life when she enrolled in the medical assisting program at the Bristol Campus. She was inspired to enter the medical assisting field when she saw that the medical assistants in her doctor’s office got the most contact with patients.

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Now, over ten years later, Candace has advanced from certified medical assistant to clinical team lead, and she still loves the opportunity to build relationships with her patients of all ages. “I get to know my patients,” she shared. “With our younger patients, our moms, we get to follow them through their pregnancy. We get to see them really often.”

Her days at Seasons, a Holston Medical Group (HMG) obstetrics and gynecology practice, are extremely busy as she assists the physician that she works with and oversees other medical assistants in the practice. “At nine o’clock our patients start and we go until lunch time,” she said, as she lists injections, fetal monitoring, pulling charts, and scheduling surgeries as just a few of the duties that she performs. 

Although there are new advances in the medical field every day, Candace feels the skills that she initially gained through her hands-on training at National College put her on the track for career success. “My instructors were great. We had a lot of fun,” she shared, adding that she scored high on her exam to become a certified medical assistant.

The externship with HMG that she participated in as part of her program was also key to her success. “The day that I graduated, the last day of my externship, the director of nursing…she came to me and offered me a job,” she recalled.
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Today, Candace is playing a part in the careers of the externs from National College that she supervises, as they get their first in-field experience under her watch. Eventually, she sees herself transitioning into an administrative position, but for now, she’s still enjoying every minute of her fulfilling career. “I love my job,” she declared. “As long as my provider is here, I’ll be right here with him.”

Submitted by American National University.