Phlebotomist earns success through service

Since coming to work at MUSC almost four decades ago, phlebotomy coordinator Vera Brown has seen doctors and administrators come and go; she’s seen buildings torn down, built up and torn down again; she’s seen patients get better and take turns for the worse.

Those who know her say that through it all she’s demonstrated poise and compassion, leading by example and always taking time to get to know the patients who come through her lab.

March is Women’s History Month. This year’s theme, chosen by the National Women’s History Project, is "Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business."

Since the NWHP successfully lobbied Congress and President Ronald Reagan to recognize a month-long celebration of women’s contributions to American science, art and culture in 1987, many pioneering women have received this distinction: Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Sally Ride, Sandra Day O’Connor. Many more – women like Brown — go without such recognition, quietly and competently ensuring the gears of modern life keep turning.

“I started as a unit secretary at Charleston Memorial Hospital in 1978,” Brown said. MUSC would eventually buy Charleston Memorial in the early 2000s, but for decades, the county of Charleston paid MUSC to manage the facility, and MUSC medical students and residents gained valuable experience there.

She was transferred to MUSC proper in 1996. “Back then, you went where they sent you,” she said.

Though apprehensive about moving to a larger hospital, Brown said she quickly felt comfortable at MUSC. “The pay wasn’t good at all, but it was more than I was making before. I tried to look at the glass as half full. Before I worked as a secretary, I worked in fast food, so it was a plus just getting into the hospital.”

Only 24 years old when she started, she never thought she’d stay this long. After almost 40 years at MUSC, she’s learned to be philosophical about a lot of things.

“People complain about change,” she said. “But you stay long enough, and it’ll change back. Nothing ever stays the same.”

After working for a while as a unit secretary, Brown eventually became a clerk typist in Charleston Memorial’s hematology lab, where she had to learn to draw blood as part of her duties. “From typing to drawing blood, it was different,” she said. “But it was a good experience. I must have liked it. I eventually dropped typing and went to phlebotomy altogether.”

When Brown started, she wasn’t in charge of anyone else. Or, as she puts it, “I was in charge of me.” Nowadays, she’s responsible for supervising and scheduling around 20 employees, in addition to interacting with patients and drawing blood.

Her work ethic quickly ensured more responsibility. “I used to be the outpatient phlebotomy coordinator, but since the inpatient coordinator left, I’ve been helping with inpatients as well.

“I just can’t stand to see things not get done,” she continued. “So, when I see something’s not getting done, I get up and do it or try to do it together with someone else. I don’t like to be seen giving orders, because who am I to tell you what to do? So, I say, ‘Let’s do it together.’”

Brown believes respect is earned and tells her employees, “If we’re busy, you aren’t going home tired alone. We’re going to go home tired together. It’s a group effort.”

It’s a leadership philosophy she learned from the best managers she’s known — managers like Jim Cook, who worked with Brown at Charleston Memorial.

“He always had my back,” she explained. “Whenever I went to him with a problem, I also tried to have the solution to that problem. And we would work it out and present the solution together.”

Brown said the most rewarding part of her job is the interaction she has with patients. “You see the same patients day after day and get to know them by name,” she said. “I put myself in their position. You never know what your life is going to come to, so you have to treat people the way you would want to be treated.”

That might mean holding a patient’s hand if he or she is afraid of needles or finding something to talk about to distract them from their anxiety. “I’ll ask them, ’How many kids do you have? Where are you from? Do you have any pets?’ Just something to keep their mind off what we’re doing.”

“It makes you feel good when a patient remembers your name,” she said.

The flipside of that — and the hardest part of her job — is occasionally watching patients’ conditions worsen. “You get to know your patients, and when you see them getting sicker, as opposed to getting better, that’s the hardest part about it.”

She tries not to dwell on it. “It’s just a part of life,” she said.

Brown takes comfort from her faith. She is a member of St. Matthews AME church in Ravenel where she grew up.  She’s involved with church leadership, serving on the missionary and steward boards, and looks forward to church book club, which meets every second Wednesday.

Married for 36 1/2 years, Brown and her husband John have three children, all grown, and seven grandchildren. She drives her youngest granddaughter to church choir once a month.

Brown said family is her greatest source of pride, and at the end of the day, it helps put everything else in perspective.

In his 1989 Women’s History Month proclamation, President George H.W. Bush spoke of service as the definition of success.

"Women have demonstrated their great love for this country and have made that love real by their engagement in the lives of others,” he said. “If any definition of a successful life must include service to others, countless women live successful lives.”

With her decades of service to MUSC, her church and her family, he might have been speaking about Brown.

Editor's Note: MUSC is celebrating Women's History Month by honoring four trailblazing women in labor and business.