Before coming to Duke, Steve Polack worked at an psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, where he saw first-hand the urgent need for care in this area as well as the impact psychiatric care could have on a patient’s life. Now, Polack is a staff assistant in our Morreene Road Clinic, where he’s both maintaining provider-patient schedules and learning about day-to-day patient care.
In our final Spotlight interview of 2023, Polack talks to us about his work at Duke and how he balances these responsibilities while also being a full-time student with a 90-minute commute. He also shares his hopes for a future career in psychiatry and his passion for backpacking, offroading, and otherwise exploring the outdoors when he’s not at Duke.
What are your current responsibilities within the Neurology Department? What does a typical day look like for you?
I am currently a staff assistant at our Morreene Road Clinic. My day-to-day responsibilities include distributing incoming mail and faxes, monitoring my providers’ schedules for any errors and correcting them, assisting in scheduling patients, and ensuring all pertinent medical documentation is available for the provider to review to ensure the best quality care.
How long have you worked in our Morreene Road Clinic? What kind of work were you doing before you came to Duke Neurology, and how does that work compare to your current position?
I have just finished my 90 days at the Morreene Road Clinic. Prior to this position, I was an office manager for an outpatient psychiatry office. The roles are very similar in some ways: maintaining the provider schedule and ensuring there are no scheduling errors is a large part of the job. I also assist patients who are having difficulty and ensure they feel taken care of after speaking with them.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I have future aspirations of becoming a physician myself, so I enjoy being able to speak with my providers and learn about day-to-day patient care.
What specialty or other aspects of medicine interest you the most? If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
I specifically would like to become a psychiatrist, specializing in children and adolescents. In a previous job, I worked at a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric hospital, where I learned about the need for providers in that field and the positive impact you can have on a kid's life.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
I do enjoy my work; I would have to say the hardest part of my job would be the drive to and from work, normally around an hour and a half.
Where do you live, and how do you typically spend your 90-minute commute?
I live in Angier. Without traffic it's a little over an hour; with traffic it normally takes 90 minutes. I am a full-time online student (I am finishing my bachelors in interdisciplinary studies, focusing on anatomy and biology. It's as close to pre-med as I can get), so I typically listen to the current chapter assignment, or I do enjoy listening to different podcasts.
What’s one thing you wished more patients and their loved ones knew before coming to Duke?
It is important that we are able to access past medical records and imaging so that our providers are the most informed and able to make well-informed decisions ensuring excellence in quality of care.
What other passions or hobbies do you have outside of the Department?
My wife and I enjoy the outdoors and frequently go backpacking, camping, and off-roading. One of our favorite places to backpack is Grandfather Mountain.
