Kids' Health Blog

How long have you worked at Children’s? I’ve been here for 25 years.

Why Children’s? I knew early on in nursing school that I was most happy in my work when kids were involved. Children’s was called Children’s Health Care at the time I applied, and it was “the place” for pediatric care. 

You work in the diagnostic center at our clinic in Minnetonka. Can you describe your job? I have been so lucky in my career. That is the beauty of the nursing profession. I have done camp nursing, home care, private duty, clinic nursing, nursing management and now have landed at Children’s–Minnetonka in the radiology department. The environment is “team focused,” and I am one of many who work with children for sedation procedures done. It is less intense than some of my other positions, which allows me time to “play with kids” at work.

It’s National Nurses Week. What do you enjoy most about your job? What I love about pediatric nursing are the 3- and 4-year olds. If you haven’t had a conversation with one lately you are missing out on life.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? It took me 50 years, but I have found my passion in nursing. I travel one to two times per year to remote areas of the world with a team of pediatric health care professionals to perform surgery on children who have no access to health care. The poor, orphaned, abandoned and forgotten children. My eyes have been opened, in a whole new way, watching the resilience of a child. I have learned that anywhere in the world you go, all parents want the same thing for their children. A chance at a better life.

Happy Nurses Week to you all!

Dr. Molly Martyn joined Children’s General Pediatrics Clinic in Minneapolis last September. She completed her residency and chief residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital and previously worked as a hospitalist and Urgent Care provider in Seattle.

Dr. Molly Martyn

You have some special connections to Children’s.  What are those? I grew up in the Twin Cities and my connection to Children’s started long before I became a pediatrician. I have been a patient, a family member of a patient, and a volunteer at the hospital.

When I was 8 years old, I had my tonsils taken out at Children’s. I remember everything from the Child Life specialist who met with me the morning of my operation to the orange Popsicles I got to eat after my surgery.

The most important way I was connected to Children’s in the past was as the family member of a patient. My younger brother underwent brain and spine surgery at the Minneapolis campus when he was in middle school. It was a scary time for my family, but he was in competent and caring hands, and my family is thankful to this day for the excellent care he received during his hospitalization.

I volunteered at Children’s during college when I was home for the summers. The hospital looked a lot different back then, but the spirit of the volunteer program was the same. Every time I see a volunteer in a red vest around the hospital, it makes me smile.

What drew you to Children’s? The Children’s philosophy of patient-centered care was part of what attracted me to the organization, as was the diverse group of patients we serve. I have the opportunity to work with amazing families in the General Pediatrics Clinic.

There are many things that make our clinic unique, but two aspects stand out for me. One is our Special Needs Children program, focused on providing a medical home for children with complex medical needs. The other is our access to high quality interpreter services, which helps us as medical providers to communicate and connect with every family in their language of preference.

How did you decide to go into pediatrics? Pediatrics has been the perfect career for me because I get to blend the two things I have always enjoyed the most, learning and helping others. In general pediatrics, we join families in conversations about safety, nutrition, preventative medicine and everything else that goes into keeping their children healthy. Parents and guardians are the true experts on their children, and I enjoy partnering with them to provide medical care that is a good fit for their families.

What about kids’ health are you most passionate? I am passionate about ensuring that all children (regardless of their family structure, financial situation, language of preference, etc) have access to high quality healthcare. My hope is that every child has the opportunity to thrive and be as healthy as possible, and an important way to achieve that goal is to create a healthy environment around them.

How do you spend your free time? We provide books at well-child visits through the Reach-Out-and-Read program, which is fun for me because reading has always been my favorite pastime. I also like to do just about anything outside, including biking, swimming, hiking, and playing tennis.  I enjoy everything more when I am around family and friends!

You know what day it is. It’s Five Question Friday, and that means we’re featuring another one of our awesome staff members. Meet Clyde Brotherson, who oversees our Central Processing and Distribution department at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. he’s worked at Children’s for over three-and-a-half years.

1. You’re the manager of Central Processing and Distribution. What does your department do? The Central Processing department is a 24-hour operation responsible for the sterile processing, maintenance and dispensing of medical supplies, which includes but is not limited to, surgical instrumentation and equipment, required by Children’s caregivers for the care, diagnosis or treatment of our patients. We also maintain a sufficient inventory of surgical supplies used in the operating rooms.

Clyde Brotherson

2. What do you love most about working at Children’s? What I love most about working at Children’s can be summed up in two words: caring and culture. When adults come to this facility they are entrusting us with their most precious possessions: their children. They are depending on us to give the best of ourselves to their precious ones. So it seems that at Children’s we are able to coalesce around a common purpose which is seeking the best outcomes for the children who mean so much to us. I feel that we are then able to transfer that spirit of caring to each other at all levels  within the larger organization.

3. Do you have a favorite memory working here? My favorite memory stems from a get together, which was held by my staff a few years ago. We had a room decorated for the party, and the food was laid out on the table. We were all so hungry and were like a pack of wolves ready to attack the food when one of my staff said, “Wait a minute everyone, we need to pray!”   The  entire staff stood up and immediately prayed. Since we have a very diverse population, the prayer was a very multicultural prayer that included everyone. I was totally surprised by this. I had  never experienced something such as that, and it has remained a very touching and warm  memory for me.

4. Outside of work, how do you spend your time? Outside of work I spend lots of time in two places: with my family and my church. I have a very tightly knit circle of family and friends who are very meaningful to my wife and me. My wife and I enjoy movies, Broadway shows and eating out. My son and I enjoy a very close relationship. We therefore share a lot of activities with each other. In addition to my family, I am very much involved in ministry activity in my church which takes up quite a bit of my time. In addition to this, I love walking and bicycling and am a ferocious gardener.

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be and why? I would travel to Spain (especially San Sebastian on the northern coast) and to the island of Tobago. I love Spain because I speak Spanish and French and have always set fluency in Spanish as a goal. My wife and I visited Spain last year and loved the culture, the food and the history of the region. I also liked the simplicity that comes from the hearts of the Spanish people. My wife and I are both from the Caribbean Islands. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago. I visited Tobago and was taken by the beauty of that island and the loving nature of the people.

Do you know of a staff member at Children’s who should be featured in Five Question Friday? Send your suggestions to Brady at Brady.Gervais@ChildrensMN.org.

At Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, we offer interpreter services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Today, we want to introduce you to one of our Spanish language interpreters, Cesar Gutierrez-Garcia. He joined Children’s about three years ago.

It’s Five Question Friday again when we help you get to know our staff better. Today, we’re talking to Dr. Rachel Miller, a pediatric gynecologist. She’s worked at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota since September 2008.

Why did you go into pediatric and adolescent gynecology?

During medical school and residency, I really liked working with adolescents and young women because they were a group with potential for very high risk decisions and ripe for preventive health. However, they were a relatively “lost” age group in that neither general pediatricians nor adult obstetrician-gynecologists seemed all that comfortable with their specific reproductive health needs. As I got further into my training, I subsequently found that pediatric gynecologic complaints were even more of a conundrum for most clinicians. Pediatric and adolescent gynecology is a growing sub-specialty usually found at large children’s hospitals so I knew that I would have an opportunity to work in a friendly atmosphere.

What are some of the conditions you treat? I treat a range of conditions. Some of them include: abnormal development of the reproductive structures, delayed puberty, endometriosis, menstrual problems, ovarian cysts and sexually transmitted infections. You can find more information here.

What is a “typical” day like for you at Children’s? I spend the majority of my days in one of three clinics seeing patients from birth to 22 years old. I also may have to see a patient in the hospital/emergency department or perform gynecologic surgery. And as medical director, I attend several administrative meetings each month. Each day usually starts between 7 and 8:30 a.m., and I try to be home by 6:30 p.m.

Do you have a favorite memory from working at Children’s? One of my favorite moments was when a young patient of mine in pre-op asked if she could come back tomorrow because she was having so much fun.

What do you love most about your job? The most satisfying part of my job is counseling adolescents on healthy choices and then seeing them in follow-up to find that they are doing just that.

Would you like to recommend a Children’s employee for Five Question Friday? Send your suggestion to social@childrensMN.org.