The life of Bryan Day involves balancing two separate roles. From Monday through Friday, Day acts as a staff assistant for the Neurology Department, answering phone and email requests, and helping patients and providers make and keep their schedules. On weekends and evenings, Day heads over to the Clarksville Station restaurant, which he owns and manages. For this week’s Spotlight interview Day talks to us about his work at Duke, the joys and challenges of running a restaurant, and how he uses lists to keep his busy life in order.
What are your current responsibilities within the Neurology Department? What does a typical day look like for you?
My current role is a staff assistant. I support general neurology and have two providers, Dr. Scott Strine and Kelly White, then all the residents’ outpatient clinic. What’s that mean? I answer phones, emails, keep tabs on everyone’s schedule to make sure patients are reminded about their appointments. Also, if there is an emergency that comes up or if any of these providers go out of town for a conference, I block their schedules and make sure patients are rescheduled to a day the provider will be back in clinic. That’s just a little snippet of what we do! My day looks different every day, but some of the staples are checking voicemail and email – that will dictate what direction my day goes from there.
What were you doing before you came to the Neurology Department? How does that work compare to your current position?
I was a patient service associate in clinic 2F2G, which is pulmonary, cardiology, and cardiothoracic. My role now doesn’t yield as much face-to-face with patients on the front end. Now I feel I support that role with helping place patients on my provider’s schedule to ensure they see them in a timely fashion.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
The best part of my job is that it’s different every day! Not one day looks the same. I enjoy facing the challenges of what may come and being able to find a solution for that. Also the providers and coworkers are the best! Very supportive and want to see you succeed. That’s a huge plus!
What’s the hardest part of your job?
The most enjoyable part plays as the hardest part – finding solutions to things that come your way. This is especially true when you have everyone coming at you at the same time! Ha! But that’s when you take a step back and make a list and prioritize it based on dates.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
I’d be an architect or designer! I always wanted to learn to design new buildings and I’m decent in math!
What’s one thing you’re looking forward to in 2022?
I wished I could say for COVID to end or slow down – but it seems like COVID just went into 4th gear here.
What other passions or hobbies do you have outside of Duke?
One thing I’ve always enjoyed doing is cook. So I decided 2.5 years ago to open a restaurant--the Clarksville Station in Roxboro! That has consumed all of my time, so much that my passions and hobbies are put on the back burner. But I still am able to create/cook dishes that may do well to add to the menu or as a feature. Now it’s more out of obligation and not passion/hobby!
As of January 13, 2022, the Clarksville Station in Roxboro, above, is open for take-out and dine-in service!
What is your day-to-day involvement in the restaurant currently?
I opened the restaurant in October 2019. Five months later, COVID hit and we were shut down. That’s when everything became eye opening and I realized, I better find a job that will support me in case the restaurant doesn’t make it. At that point, I re-structured my staffing and hired a kitchen manager to oversee daily operations of the restaurant so that I could work at Duke and have benefits. Now, my role is that of General Manager.
The bulk of a restaurant business is weekends, so you will find me building relationships with guests that chose to dine with us. That’s important to build repeat business and also catch those that haven’t dined with us before. During the week I stop in on my way home from Duke to make sure everyone is good and they feel supported.
How do you juggle that role with your work in the Neurology Department? What’s one time-management tip that you’ve found helpful in this regard?
I’m a huge proponent of lists. That’s how I stay organized. An old step my grandmother used to say to me is to not let grass grow under your feet between tasks. That means get things done and don’t let it take longer than it needs to. Once you are caught up on that list (be careful – more will come!), you will have time to get ahead a little bit. I try to keep everything separate and not mix work at my different jobs.