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Campus News - January 28, 2002 |
Spotlight
HSC's Whalen excels at juggling act
By
Veronica Valencia
Nancy Whalen likes to describe her life as jumping from the frying pan and
into the fire. And some days, Whalen, who is the division coordinator for the
Department of Cardiology at the School of Medicine, is often juggling patients,
cardiology fellows and physicians at the same time.
I like to be challenged, says Whalen. I like learning new
skills and working in an environment where I am encouraged to grow.
Thats why working at UNM fits her like a glove. Throughout her 12-year
career at UNM, shes held administrative positions at the Cancer Center
and at the Department of OB/GYN. Shes been a special event and conference
coordinator for the School of Medicines Continuing Medical Education and
even took a hiatus to plan an international conference for the Alliance for
Transportation Research and Civil Engineering Department. She planned, organized
and executed a successful five-day conference with more than 500 participants
in attendance.
In the division of cardiology, she has a chance to put all of her problem solving,
decision-making, customer service, and attention-to-detail skills to work. Whalen,
assistant to the chief of cardiology, is responsible for all division schedules
at UNM Hospital and the VA Medical Center. The cardiology division currently
has 14 faculty members and nine fellows.
Aside from that, she coordinates the complex cardiology fellowship program
and fellowship applicant recruitment process, she says.
The cardiology program at UNM is very well respected and has a great
reputation we bring in nationally-recognized cardiologists and our grand
rounds are attended by the Albuquerque cardiology community, says Whalen.
She also serves as a liaison for the numerous cardiology specialty clinics,
resolving many related issues including scheduling overbooks for physicians
and patients, which involves a great deal of patient and hospital personnel
interactions.
Customer service is important to me both to my internal and external
customers, says Whalen. People rely on me and I have to be resourceful
in solving problems.
Whalen is described as warm, friendly and approachable a detail-oriented
person who likes to throw parties and has a reputation as an excellent and creative
cook.
When shes not busy fighting the proverbial fires during the workday,
she enjoys spending time on the slopes and was thrilled to find herself recently
skiing at Snowmass, Col. She also likes playing tennis, bird watching, traveling
and aspires to get a few more stamps in her passport.
The only overseas venture Ive had is to Kyoko, Japan, I have to
work on that, she jokes.
A four-legged feline named Bella has proven to be a newfound friend for Whalen. We take her for rides in the car take her to Starbucks, and to visit my friends mother. Its funny, I cant explain it, but I never thought for an instant that I would have such a tight bond with a cat.
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