(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Marion General Hospital Radiology Supervisor Brooke McCain.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born on Dec. 18, 1981, in Hattiesburg.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I graduated from Columbia Academy, and I went to Pearl River Community College and got into the radiology program.
Q: What was your childhood like?
A: My childhood was great. I’m an identical twin, so I learned how to share things. I had a lot of cousins I grew up really close with, so I always had someone to play with. My sisters, Brandi Stogner and Jodi Reed, and I raise our children the same way. All of our kids are like brothers and sisters.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I am the radiology supervisor at Marion General Hospital. I do multiple modalities in radiology, including CAT scan and ultrasound. I handle the daily roles of the department and take care of patients.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field, then I job shadowed. I found that helping do my part in diagnosing what’s wrong with someone was the reason I wanted to get into radiology.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: Helping people find out what is wrong with them, what kind of problems they’re having, and helping the doctor in solving the solution.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: You never know what is going to happen on a day-to-day basis in a hospital setting. So what rolls into the ER, you never know. I have to complete the task set before me no matter what difficult situations come up.
Q: What advice would you give someone considering your career path?
A: Because the medical field is not cut out for everyone, I would suggest job shadowing to make sure everything that we do in radiology you can handle. You have to have a caring and compassionate heart to help others.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My parents own a business, Watts Electrical & Air Conditioning, so I helped at their business, but my first real job was at Endless Summer with my sisters.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: My parents, Vernon and Sara Watts, have been the most influential. They gave me good work ethics and taught me what hard work and dedication is all about. Then Rosalind Mikell has been my most influential person in my career. She taught me a lot and has made me into the great technologist I am today.
Q: Do you have children?
A: I have a 10-year-old son, Zac McCain.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: My mom’s pork chops, rice and gravy. She’s the best cook.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: That’s a hard one because there’s a lot of places I want to go. But I want to go to Bora Bora in one of those bungalow huts over the water.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I like to go camping with my family and friends, and I enjoy going to sporting events watching my son.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I enjoy the small-town atmosphere. When you out into the public, you’re always going to run into somebody you know.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: My aunt, Kaye McDaniel. I would love to have one more meal with her. We ate lots of lunches together, and it was always a good lunch. 30 minutes.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: I would travel the world and see all of God’s creations. I would go to Hawaii, out West, all the islands in the Caribbean, France and just travel.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: Watch a good movie because I don’t have a lot of time to read. During the holidays I love watching Christmas movies.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: 2011 was a very trying and hard year for myself and my family. We experienced tragedy and loss in one year. It was very hard so I learned I had to collect the moments and not the things.
Q: If you could describe your morals in three words, what would they be?
A: Caring, compassionate and trustworthy.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: As someone with a caring heart. With the job that I have and the way I have to do my job in helping others, it’s a very rewarding experience. I always want to be remembered as someone who helped others and cared about people.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Marion General Hospital Radiology Supervisor Brooke McCain said she found her love for radiology during a job shadowing. She encourages others to take advantage of job shadowing to discover if working in the medical field is the right choice for them. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
