SPECIAL HONORS: Physician Assistant
Physician assistant Frank Kelleher (Photo by Jay Paul)
When Dr. Nicole Kelleher was young, her father, Frank Kelleher, would take her and her sister with him when he made weekend or nighttime rounds in nursing homes. This gave them a firsthand experience of their father’s work as a certified physician assistant, and that glimpse into his practice influenced Nicole.
Now a breast radiologist at Johnston-Willis Hospital, Nicole says her father was her inspiration to pursue medicine as a career. “He always encouraged me to follow this dream,” she says. “I aspire to be like him as a clinician and a human being every day.”
And it’s not just Nicole who holds Kelleher in high regard. Patients are constantly telling Liz Bigelow, the medical director of Patient First’s Short Pump location, what a great experience they’ve had with the care given by Kelleher.
“The patients just love him,” she says. “Everyone is in a good mood and happy when he is working. He’s one of the best people I have ever met. He is such a good, smart person. And he has the best bedside manner. He is the ultimate team player.”
Kelleher, a certified physician assistant, was a history major when he became interested in medicine. “I took pre-med sciences, and I wanted to get some experience in the field,” he says, noting that he took a job as an orderly at Alexandria Hospital in 1970. “I was promoted to operating room tech and then surgical assistant.”
He was in the third graduating class of physician assistants from The George Washington University School of Allied Health Sciences (now the School of Medicine and Health Sciences) in 1977. He decided to become a PA and not a physician. “I looked at the future,” he says. “I already had two children. I didn’t want to disrupt the family.”
During his career, Kelleher has held various positions in the medical community. He joined Patient First 17 years ago, first working at the Woodman Road location. He went to Short Pump in 2010.
Although it can be stressful at times, Kelleher is passionate about his work. “I like medicine because you get to care for people,” he says. “I get a great sense of satisfaction seeing people get better and interacting with them.”
He takes a lot of time to get to know his patients — he is the primary care provider for many of them. “You have to know a patient’s background before you prescribe something because everyone is different,” Kelleher says. “I always try to find out more about the patient. I feel it contributes to your patient relationship.”
Patient First wouldn’t operate efficiently without a “full, coordinated team effort,” he adds. “Our nurses are incredibly efficient. We are fortunate to have a team that clicks. Our staff is absolutely incredible. It’s the best staff I have worked with.”
Kelleher loves his job “more than anything in the world,” says Nicole. “His patients are his life. You will never find a man more devoted to his patients and his career.”