Share Medical adds another PA-C provider
January 14, 2018
Edmond's Paige Little had never heard of Northwestern Oklahoma State University until she was contacted by Shane Hansen, who wanted to recruit her for the cross-country team at the university.
"I decided to check it out and ended up really liking it," she said. "I like the small town atmosphere. I came here and ran for three years."
Little's intended major was health and sports science leading to a physical therapy career. However, before she completed her freshman year she switched to biology because some research led her to conclude she could get a physicians assistant's degree in about the same amount of time. The degree change to biology was a wise move, as she ended up graduating magna cum laude (which means "with great honor").
Next, she was accepted to the OU Health Science Center in Oklahoma City. She started her studies June 1, 2015, and graduated Dec. 1, 2017, finishing up in a total of 30 months.
Beginning Jan. 30, Little will be using her skills to help Alva-area patients at Share Medical Center's physician's clinic, where she'll work under the oversight of Dr. Michael Lawrence. Dr. Benjamin Hicks is also in that clinic, which will soon be accepting pediatric and adult patients. For some time now, while waiting for her license to arrive in the mail, she has been observing Lawrence's and Hicks' work at the clinic.
"The two physicians along with the entire staff have been wonderful. It is a kind and open environment. A pure joy," she said.
Little passed her PA-C test on Dec. 13, 2017, and is waiting for the piece of paper that says she has her board certification. She said she enjoys pediatrics and family medicine in general, but also picked up on dermatology and ENT (ear, nose and throat) at OU Health Sciences Center.
Asked what she thinks of Alva, Little said, "I love Alva. That's the main reason I came back. I fell in love with it when I went to school here. People appreciate you a lot and are kinder than in larger cities. And everybody waves when you are driving!"
Little met Sammy Kruckenberg of Mooreland while they were sophomores at NWOSU. He now has his own welding business and is quite busy making corrals, fences and doing any type of farm welding that needs to be done. The pair is planning to be married in June of 2018.
Little has many outside interests, which include running marathons, scrapbooking, going to movies, cooking, reading and playing with her two dogs, Lincoln and Presley.
When asked how long she expects to stay in Alva, Little replied "Since Sammy has a good business here, and we're near his family in Mooreland, I don't have any thoughts of leaving. In fact, my parents in Edmond may decide to move to Alva. My family loves Alva!"
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