For Travis West ’01, the 40-mile drive down Highway 160 in south-central Kansas past dusty fields and grazing cattle is a daily commute.
He leaves Medicine Lodge just after 6 a.m., and by 7 he is making the rounds at Comanche County Hospital in Coldwater, which has a population of about 1,000.
This small-town atmosphere is just what West was looking for when he graduated from wsu as a physician assistant. “I think you can build a better rapport with the patients in the community, better than in a big city,” he says.
In addition to his duties at the hospital, he finds time to visit patients at the Pioneer Lodge Nursing Home, and three nights a week he stays at the hospital late to cover the emergency room before making the trek home.
Off the hospital floor, West plays intramural basketball and softball, speaks at the local Lions Club and visits with emergency medical technicians.
He believes educating the public is just as important as treating it. While rural communities often lack the technological equipment that is readily available in their big-city counterparts, rural residents still demand the same level of care, a level of care, West feels, physician assistant professionals help provide.
The commute may be long and the hours grueling, but for West it is worth it. As he puts it: “Being invited into people’s lives during some of their most intimate or tragic times and being able to help them out by providing care — it’s a privilege.”
— Michelle Moe
