(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Marion General Hospital Diagnostic X-ray Tech Amber Morea.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Chickasha, Okla., Oct. 30, 1986.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I attended West Marion then did my basics at Pearl River Community College and attended Jones College for radiology school.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I’m a diagnostic X-ray tech for Marion General Hospital. I make appointments, schedule patients’ medical procedures, do an assortment of X-rays and am also cross trained to do CT scans. So I start IVs and administer contrast. I get to X-ray inpatients, outpatients and ER patients.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: It was actually the vo-tech program at West Marion. When I did that I thought I wanted to be a nurse. It took me about 10 seconds to realize nursing wasn’t for me. There’s so many jobs in health care, and sometimes we don’t realize there’s a different field we can be interested in. They let me come back here one day, and this is when they still had to process film and I got to process film for them, see how they interacted with the patients and it was very much what I needed to do.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: Knowing that I’m helping people. People come to you and they’re scared, afraid, sick, don’t know what’s wrong and need to find out what’s wrong. I get to help them figure out what’s wrong and make them feel comfortable during a procedure. Then I get to me an assortment of people. Sickness happens to anybody; it doesn’t matter who you are. But I get to find out a little bit about what you do and things like that.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: Seeing people get a diagnosis you know they can’t overcome. It doesn’t necessarily mean cancer or something like that. Someone could come into the ER, and they’re not breathing and we try to do everything we can for them. I know this family just lost someone they love, and that can be hard to deal with.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?
A: Probably that sickness happens to everybody, and everyone needs someone that can listen to them. They need the empathy and sympathy you can provide for them.
Q: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: My first thing I remember wanting to be was a veterinarian. That was before I knew I was allergic to cats. Then I realized it wasn’t just cats and puppies, but people had snakes and lizards that they take to the vet. I realized then, no that’s not something I want to do.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My first job was at Movie Gallery.
Q: Who are the people who have been most influential in your life?
A: As far as X-ray goes, the most influential would be Roslind Mikell, who was my boss at the time. Then Brooke McCain, who is my boss now. I’ve worked with both of them, and they are the model of what you want to be. They’re compassionate, caring, go above and beyond to try to make everybody work together well and try to make patients as comfortable at possible. My mom, Elaine Darr, is also a big inspiration. She had a health scare a few years ago, and seeing how scared she was through the process showed me that much more that I need to make sure my patients understand what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and how it might help them without overwhelming them with too much information as well.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Zane. He works offshore.
Q: Do you have children?
A: We have a daughter, Zoey, who is 6.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: I really like crawfish a lot.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I haven’t really been anywhere except Jamaica but just somewhere beachy. Anywhere pretty and beachy with friendly people.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I like to read, and I like taking pictures.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: The best part is that it’s a small community. A lot of the people I interact with, I see them outside of the hospital. So I know that their health care continued, and it was good. Also knowing that I work in a hospital that provides immediate care for people that couldn’t make it to Hattiesburg from Sandy Hook, but they needed to be stabilized. Knowing that I’m a part of a team that does help a lot of people is very good.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: My grandmother, Shirley Darr. I miss her so much and would have her back in a heartbeat.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: I’d probably be on the beach and just explore the world. There’s so much to go and see. I’d probably do some charity work, too.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: The first thing I would say that makes me who I am was that I was saved as a teenager. Another big step was helping my mom when she had cancer. Just going through it with her, it helped me understand how we interact with patients and making sure she understood what was going on. That changed how I interact with my patients. Then of course becoming a mom changed me, too.
Q: Using one word for each, what are your top three morals?
A: Honesty, trustworthiness and love.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: That I was caring for people and that I took good care of my family and friends. That I was a good person that was there for them and they could lean on.
— Joshua Campbell
