Blue Devil of the Week: Ensuring Patients Feel Like An MVP

Name: Kim Adcock

Position: Health Center Administrator

Years at Duke: 22

What she does at Duke:

Adcock is the Health Center Administrator for the Duke Perinatal Clinic of Durham. A few tasks of her job include making sure budgets are maintained and patients, mostly women with high-risk pregnancies, are provided with a top-notch care. The clinic tries to keep wait times short and have nurses remember details about patient’s family and personal life.

“Every day is different in a clinic, but you want to make sure the patients who come to Duke Perinatal feel well-cared for from start to finish,” Adcock said. “If I had to say one thing that I want for the day, it’s that everybody leaves here feeling well-cared for and that they felt they were the most important person that day.”

What she loves about Duke:

Adcock said it was tough for her to pick just one thing that sticks out to her about Duke, because she loves so much about it.

She eventually decided on the wealth of opportunity.

“There’s great opportunity here if you want it and look for it,” Adcock said. “There’s room to move around, there’s room to move up.”

Her mentors:   

She spent the first decade of her career at Duke as a labor and delivery nurse. She moved to the Duke Perinatal Clinic in 2006 , and a year after being hired as a staff nurse, Adcock earned a promotion to nurse manager.

She credits much of her career growth to the mentorship of then medical director Geeta Swamy and previous nurse manager, Krista Wilson.

“They were instrumental in making me want to do more and see things differently. Instead of just coming to work to be a clinic nurse, I wanted to be the best clinic nurse I could be,” Adcock said.

First-ever job:

Growing up in Roxboro, Adcock worked as a cashier at a local grocery store called Byrd’s.

“It was back when you had to key in the price. You couldn’t scan it,” she said. “You got really fast though. It’s like working on your calculator if you’re adding things. I can type like a wiz.”

Best advice received: 

“Always remember things that happen at work are mostly just professional and not personal related. Always keep in mind not to get mad at someone and don’t hold it against them if they’re just trying to make you better or give constructive criticism.”

Special memorabilia in her office:

A corkboard behind Adcock’s desk is plastered with items, including photos of her family and a cornhusk doll given to her by a nurse who visited Central America. The board includes a note that reads, “I love Brooke and Madison.”

It was written by one of Adcock’s nephews for her daughter, Brooke, and her daughter’s friend while on vacation at the beach.  

“He was practicing his writing skills,” Adcock said.

Fun fact:

Adcock still lives on a tobacco farm in the town she grew up in, Roxboro. Though it’s an hour-long commute, the time and distance allow her time to de-stress before getting home and is often where she does her best thinking. 

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