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Positive outlook leads to balance,
success
The following article is the
final in a series dedicated to National Women’s History Month (March)
and this year’s theme, “Women's Art and Vision.”
by
Heather Woolwine
Public
Relations
Balance has many forms. Identifying one’s balance may not be the hard
part—the hard part is actually achieving it. But when balance is
achieved, harmony is evident in a calm demeanor, or in Becki Trickey’s
case, an easy smile and vision for the college she loves.
Dr. Becki Trickey
Trickey, Ph.D., College of Health Professions executive associate
dean and professor, said that the keys to success are finding balance
and seeing the world through the eyes of an occupational therapist
(OT).
“I was drawn to the philosophy of the profession. OT is about leading a
balanced life, and taking a broad perspective of interaction with an
environment and helping others to adapt to their environment to live as
independently as possible,” she said. “In addition to that, I’ve always
felt that you should work hard at work, and leave work at work. If you
are able to leave work at work, you can also focus on the important
aspects of your life at home.” Finding balance then, and helping others
find balance, has been the crux of Trickey’s vision when it comes to
her life, guiding students, or treating patients.
Trickey graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s
degree in occupational therapy. “OT was a great fit for me because in
everything I do I have to understand the context or the environment to
understand how I need to move forward, and OT is the same way,” Trickey
said. Moving from Florida to Charleston, back to Florida, and then back
again to Charleston, Trickey and her husband set down permanent roots
in 1975 in the Holy City. She worked as an occupational therapist, and
became an active participant in South Carolina’s occupational therapy
association. About the same time, the administration at the College of
Health Professions determined that an occupational therapy program was
needed at MUSC. Trickey served as a key contributor to getting the
fledgling program off the ground by working closely with the statewide
association on an MUSC advisory committee. In fact, she was so helpful
that she was offered a job as a faculty member.
“I taught one course and realized how much I enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure
about full-time, but I went on to get my master’s here at MUSC (Master
of Health Sciences with an emphasis in education and administration),
and when the position came open, I started teaching. I thought I’d
never want to teach, but found that the satisfaction I got from working
with students was so similar to what I got out of working with
patients,” she said. “It’s really the same thing; it’s wonderful to see
them reach their goals.”
Trickey’s vision shifted once again with the arrival of her daughter,
Sara. She scaled back her time at work to be with her, achieving a new
sense of balance. She credited her husband of 35 years, Scott, with
providing a steady source of support throughout many transitions. “We
made a decision to stay in Charleston because of the opportunities
here, and if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have had the money or
family support to go to school for my masters or my doctorate. Support
from him and my daughter have been so important,” she said.
After working a part-time schedule for a few years, Trickey came back
full-time to the College of Health Professions, and then decided to
pursue her doctorate in higher education administration from the
University of South Carolina. In the early 1990s, she took what she
called a side step to work on a grant for interprofessional education
with Valerie West, Ed.D., associate provost for education and student
life. This would be the beginning of the interprofessional education
movement at MUSC with the original grant focused on involving a
multidisciplinary care approach to training students in the College of
Health Professions. Her ascent was steady as she moved to the associate
chair of rehabilitation sciences and worked on a grant to provide
inter-disciplinary courses through distance education in Greenville for
occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech pathology. Afterward,
Trickey was asked to serve as the director of the occupational therapy
program. Eventually she chaired the rehabilitation sciences department
and then was asked to work in the dean’s office as the associate dean
for academic and student affairs. It is at this point in her resume
where a pattern begins to emerge. Trickey seems to be the go-to woman
when an experienced person is needed to helm the ship. When Danielle
Ripich, Ph.D., (former dean) left the college a little less than two
years ago, Trickey served as interim dean.
“It was overwhelming, yet I felt like I was probably the best person at
the time to do it,” she said. “I know the college and the university, I
have good relationships around campus and I didn’t have any desire to
be a permanent dean, so I felt I could be objective in the goal of
hiring the best possible dean for CHP. It was my job to be the relief
pitcher.” She admits that there were some difficult decisions to make
during that time, but the support of others helped her through. “I’d
seek advice from Dr. West or Dr. (John) Raymond, who are always so
supportive and available. When you’re in that position, there aren’t
many people you can talk to because of the confidential nature of
things, and at the conclusion you have to stand by whatever decision
you make.”
A member of more than 40 professional organizations throughout the
course of her career and with approximately 80 publications, grants and
presentations, Trickey has been able to return full time to her student
and academic affairs work for the college since the arrival of Mark
Sothmann, Ph.D., the college’s new dean. Her academic work centers on
curriculum and accreditation, working closely with individual programs
and serving as the CHP liaison to other areas of the university. With
regard to students, she deals with student recruitment and retention,
diversity, student organizations, advocacy for CHP students and
graduation duties. With another transition under her belt, Trickey has
committed to expanding the vision of CHP. Impressed with the quality of
CHP students currently here, Trickey said it is important to maintain
the caliber of students matriculating into the college and find more
ways to broaden their educational experience within an
interprofessional context. “As health care evolves and changes, so do
academic programs. We continue to work with our programs’ faculty to
maximize the learning experience through state-of-the-art technology
with content relevant to today’s environment,” she said.
In the fall, CHP will host its first homecoming event for faculty,
students, staff and alumni. Trickey explained that the event is meant
to provide a way for current students and alumni to make connections
for the benefit of both groups through mentorship and
networking. “The dean’s vision is to develop CHP
scholarships to achieve national distinction,” Trickey said. “We’re
going to continue with the development of academic programs and
research and scholarship. We’ve done a lot of talking about diversity
in our college, and we will continue to develop and implement programs
and initiatives that will provide our diverse student groups with the
support services and student scholarships that they need.”
With CHP on solid footing, and plans to forge ahead as a leader in
health profession education for the 21st century, Trickey says that
improvement of a good thing is all about being positive. “You have to
be willing to step through a door and have the self-confidence to try,”
she said. “Nothing’s set in stone, you can always change something. You
have to learn from every experience, and take advantage of being a
life-long learner. You always look for the positive; even if you don’t
like something you are doing, there’s always the possibility that it’s
preparing you for the next step.”
Friday, April 4, 2008
Catalyst Online is published weekly,
updated
as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public
Relations
for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of
South
Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at
792-4107
or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to
Catalyst
Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to
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