The Urgent Care Clinic of Lincoln is privately owned by Dr. Donald Rice, and provides urgent care and other medical services to Lincoln and the surrounding communities seven days a week, 362 days a year.  Urgent Care Clinic has three full-time care providers, Dr. Rice, Bridget Green PA-C and Wanda Wynn PA-C, with one of the three always working at the clinic during operating hours.  Wanda Wynn is UCC’s newest physician assistant.

How did you get started in this career? –  My first degree is in nursing.  I have a BSN from a private college in Iowa.  All of my nursing experience has been in critical care, including heart transplant.  I always knew I would go back to college and further my education and I did so, receiving my physician assistant degree in 1994.  Since graduation I have worked in family practice, internal medicine and urgent care.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced professionally? – One of my first jobs as a physician assistant was in my hometown of about 27,000 people.  At the time, there were possibly three mid-level providers including myself.  Most people had no idea what a physician assistant was, but they did know we were not doctors.  As was the norm for our town at the time, most people saw their doctor with any concerns, not a physician assistant that was not their doctor.  I think I may have seen five patients on my first day of work.  Gradually, with patience, education and perseverance, my practice expanded and I was seeing 15-25 patients daily.  I learned a lot from my patients and I hope my patients learned a lot from me in the 12 years I was there.  Currently, I think there are close to twenty mid-level providers in my hometown now.

Tell me about your family. – I am originally from Iowa, and am the middle child of ten children.  I have eight sisters and one brother.  My father worked at an army arsenal and my mother is a nurse (she was also elected the first black female mayor in Iowa, another story for another time).  My parents always encouraged us and instilled in us that we could all be what we wanted to be in life.  Hence, we have no two professions the same in our family, with one doctor, one lawyer, one policeman, one nurse, and the list keeps going!  I am married and my husband, Haydn, works as the IT manager at the Purina plant in Crete.  We have one daughter, Victoria, who attends Morley Elementary School.

What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – Getting married and having a baby.  No need to explain this one further!

What is your greatest talent that you do not utilize in you daily work/life? – I work with people, I’m from a family of ten children, I’m a mother and I’m a wife.  I use ALL the talents I have, usually on a daily basis!

What is the best advice you have received? – I have several.  Tell the truth.  Hear what people are saying and be careful you are not hearing what you want them to say.  Pick your battles…and not everything is a battle.  Finally, don’t wait for someone else to make you happy if you can do it easily enough yourself.

If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – You can contact me at the Urgent Care Clinic by phone at (402) 488-4321 or by email at reception@ucclincoln.com.  You can also visit our website at www.ucclincoln.com.