When I started at Mayo I was told I needed to commit to two years of employment. I thought, "Oh my, two years, how can I do that?" Well, here I am, 37 years later ... one year just moves into another. There have been too many opportunities here for me to leave.

My days are different depending on the studies I am working on. Currently, I am in the Pulmonary Clinical Research Center, performing all research studies for the Pulmonary Department. The studies relate to drugs, screening for lung cancer and testing lung function. I get to talk with patients while conducting tests. I enjoy interacting with co-workers, outside participants who come in for studies, radiologists, pulmonologists and other lab technicians. I like the people. My job has given me the opportunity to do a lot of different things. There are never two days that are exactly the same. That is what has kept me here so long.

My position requires being accurate and precise. "Garbage in is garbage out," as they say. When you are doing a test on a person, you have to be able to communicate to them what you want them to do and help them do their very best. I tend to joke with people a little more to get them to relax. The lung mechanics test requires patients to swallow an airway device that goes through the nose and sits in the esophagus, which isn't fun. You have to establish rapport with patients to get them to think that they can do this.

Don't lock yourself into one career path ... take a broader path so that you have some options. People work many years of their lives, so you have to enjoy what you are doing.