Ending the way she started: Margret Kates looks back at 30 years.

You don’t have to know Margret Kates too long to appreciate her subtle sense of humor. Whether that playfulness is a result of her upbringing or a byproduct of almost three decades as a health education coordinator in the UK Department of Surgery is anyone’s guess.

For example: Margret chose to celebrate her official retirement from the UK Department of Surgery by taking a whole three-day weekend for herself. On Monday morning she was back in the office putting in hours as a STEPS employee. This means that when she finally decides to hang up her work shoes for good, she will do it in exactly the same way that she began – as a STEPS person.

She rather likes the symmetry of ending her career as she began it. Margret also likes the semi-ambiguity of the actual number of years that she has given to UK.  Is it 29 years? She accepted a full time position in the Department of Surgery in April of 1986. But one could argue that she has actually put in an even 30 years, give or take a few months. After all, Margret began her association with the University when she signed on to the STEPS program in 1985.

Time has softened the edges a little on that period in her life, but 1985 was still pretty rough, she said. Margret was a single mother with three school age children. She had recently earned her degree as a certified medical assistant (CMA) and was anxious to find full time work in a medical practice somewhere, anywhere. “I hoped to find a position in a doctor’s or pediatrician’s office because I liked working with patients and helping people. I had several interviews, but was getting passed over because I didn’t have the work experience. It was frustrating,” Margret said. During those lean years, the UK STEPS program helped provide her children with the small things – like food, clothing, and shelter.

“It was just me and I needed the money. So I was happy to take on the temporary jobs.” She worked in the family medicine department, in Patterson Office Tower, in pediatrics, and for the hospital administration. “My last temp job turned into my full time work.” Margret was brought on to manage resident recruitment. When she took the job on with STEPS, it only meant to be a bridge between the former coordinator and a new person that the department planned to hire “any day now.” Not long afterward, Margret was offered the job full time.

Working on the academic side of health care was not what she had envisioned for herself, but it was regular full time pay. It helped that she liked the staff and enjoyed the work. A few months later, as is usually the case at UK, she was asked to take on student education as well. There have been many changes in the way things are done since she started, but the one constant about the Department of Surgery has been its staff.

It’s impossible to compile a list of all the people that became so important to her, who led the department and have since gone on. She would end up leaving someone out. “I’ve worked with a bunch of really great people. They bring with them such a wonderful diversity of beliefs, hobbies, and personalities. Just when you think you have someone pigeon-holed, you learn something new about them.”

Margret started out as a coordinator for resident recruitment and support services. She also provided administrative assistance to Dr. Sally Mattingly, acting chief of General Surgery, Dr. Patrick Hagihara and Dr. Ram. “I can’t recall Dr. Ram’s first name, but he was a very quiet and dignified person,” Margret said.

In addition to the three physicians, Margret also shared office space with Frances McGovern, the lead staff administrator for General Surgery. “All five of us were crammed into one office in the MS corridor next to the Anatomy lab,” she added. “That’s another thing that hasn’t changed. We’ve always had space problems.”

If everyone was in the office, there was just enough room to answer a phone and swing a chair from side-to-side, Margret joked. Being the mid-1980s, there was also a lot of work done by typewriter and those machines were space eaters.

“We were just getting used to computers with the 5-inch floppy disks to key in patient notes,” Margret said. It may be difficult for new people to appreciate how much technology has impacted the processes of surgical academics, but it’s not lost on Margret.

Consider resident recruitment: Before the advent of web pages, on-line forms, email communications and ERAS, there was only one way to conduct resident recruitment. It was a massive undertaking and it involved everyone in the department. Thank goodness the process was outlined in a manual in perfect detail by her predecessor, she exclaimed. “There is no way I could have done the job without this manual. Every step in the process was explained in minute detail.”

The way it was handled, fourth-year students sent their application materials to the department by mail. The post office sorted the applications from the rest of the department’s mail. Twice a day, Margret went to the basement and collected white baskets full of applications. She opened them all, answered them with acknowledgement letters, and organized them for interviews.

All of that process was handled through the mail. There was no instant messaging, no electronic forms, and no “SEND” button.

“At that time we interviewed everybody who wanted to come,” she said.

Just like the present day, five Saturdays were scheduled to interview all applying fourth years for a handful of available resident spots. Staff and physicians conducted between 50-60 interviews each Saturday. “They were long, hard days.”

Margret obviously had the right temperament to handle details of the effort, but she quickly points out that recruitment required every staff member to get on board. Its success depended on everyone. And the cooperation is one of the key reasons she has such fond memories of the department and why she has remained while her position evolved.

So many memories and, now that she's technically retired, so little to worry about while revealing them, such as:

• The boxing match between Dr. Kearney and one of the chief residents.
• Getting into trouble with Dr. Hagihara for clearing and organizing his desk. “That was a big No No.”
• The roasts and recognition dinners for the graduating residents.
• Christmas parties that were loud, over-the-top, and reeked of cigar smoke.
• The inter-office gossip that went along with all the work.
• And the students, of course.

“The students made the whole process different every year. There were always a different mix of type A personalities, demanding ones, rising stars, and the quiet ones that were sometimes so quiet, you were often surprised to find that they were on the list of fourth years.”

For the moment, though, there are still new memories to make in her STEPS position. Following the example of her predecessor, she plans to stay on while newer members of the surgical education staff settle in.

“By the time I really do leave work, I suspect I’ll find that there is just nothing more for me to do but let the new people take over,” Margret said.

She is already experiencing some of that feeling now as Jamie Ward assumes more and more responsibility as a health education coordinator. Meanwhile, the department seeks out another candidate or two to replace Margret.As to what happens afterward, Margret is reluctant to make plans beyond spend more time with her grandchildren and watch the sun rise in her pajamas over a leisurely breakfast on a weekday morning.

She plans to make a To Do list at some time. It’s right at the bottom of the list of things she needs to do right now.