A Day in the Life of Lisa Parks

Meet Lisa Parks, Division Administrator of Clinical Operations in the Department of Anesthesiology. With a career spanning banking and academia, Lisa thrives in a fast-paced environment where no two days are the same. Whether she’s supporting multiple divisions, streamlining international faculty onboarding, or handling administrative tasks that keep clinicians focused on patient care, Lisa wears many hats to keep everything running smoothly. From morning meetings to last-minute problem-solving, follow along for a behind-the-scenes look at a day in her life!

My day starts off very routine with the alarm going off at 5:30 am, however, since I’m a “snooze” person, I don’t usually roll out of bed until 6:00 am. I’m not a coffee drinker, really no caffeine to speak of, a hot shower is what gets me moving, after that, it’s the everyday thing of getting myself ready for work. I’ve started a new regimen to my morning with a protein smoothie with my new toy, a Ninja blender. I  LOVE IT! My other job in the morning, is helping my husband to get out the door with our three grandchildren’s lunches in hand as he does before and after care for them. I think this is the most challenging part of my morning!

Once at work, my day can turn in any direction depending on what’s the priority for the day.  As a division administrator, I have many hats and there are no two days the same. My day could consist of any one of the following and many days there are multiples of these. While there are always duties within a job you don’t love, I do love the variety!

• Anything facilities (Peters, CAM, PVT) related—bringing snacks/coffee supplies to the designated area, putting in work orders for broken items, housekeeping items, keys, office space, etc. Walking to CAM and PVT helps to get my steps in!
• International Specialist Resource—completing H1B paperwork for incoming faculty, requesting checks, keeping track of applicants that apply online, and participating in IS meetings.
• Regional Fellowship Coordinator—scheduling interviews, or onboarding/off-boarding fellows.
• Backing-up division secretaries with any necessary duties while they are out of office, such as onboarding, getting food, distributing faxes, ordering flowers, etc. (the list is endless) 
• Miscellaneous tasks—notarizing documents, participating in meetings, posting updated protocols on Sharepoint…
• Coordinating with visitors/clinicians to get approval for individuals to shadow in our ORs.  A much more robust process than when I started almost eight years ago, but visitors are so appreciative of the opportunity to come see our department!
• Handling miscellaneous faculty requests, such as: employment letters, phone issues, ordering replacement badges, reserving conference rooms, or preparing jury excusal letters.
• Creating and changing the window display on the 2nd floor of Peters with the seasons (allows for the creative side of me to appear).

After a busy day in the office, I walk my 1,200 steps to the parking garage, however, my day doesn’t stop there. I typically head to our family-owned auto repair shop as I do all the book work for accounts payable/receivables. My husband retired four years ago but now our son runs the business. 

However, on other days, different priorities take over and I relieve my husband from his after-school childcare with our three grandchildren, get in a weekly Pilates class, pick up my granddaughter from art class, or participate with my grandson in his weekly cub scout meeting. 

Finally at home anywhere between 6:00-7:30 pm, we typically eat out or grab some leftovers for dinner. Who wants to cook after a full day? I relax and binge on Royal Match on my phone (I’m obsessed with this game) while the television is on and I’m not really watching it. By 9:30 pm, I’m making lunches for the kiddos for the next day and head to the bathroom for my evening hygiene routine before turning in for the night. Good night, all, until tomorrow when a new day brings new  adventures!