Erin Bryan’s path to medicine started at a young age; her natural personality as a caretaker, coupled with her passion for working with the elderly, has made her a natural fit as Physician Assistant in the Movement Disorders division. She enjoys the many learning opportunities that accompany her role caring for patients with Parkinson’s disease and Tourette Syndrome. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her young daughter and checking out breweries with her husband.
Tell us about your background and how your path led to Vanderbilt.
I was born and raised in Macomb, Michigan, and I spent most of my life in Michigan. I went to college in Grand Rapids, and got my bachelor’s degree there at Grand Valley State University. During undergrad, I worked at a nursing home and loved it. That’s how I knew I wanted to work with the elderly population. After that, I moved to Virginia, where I went to school to get my Physician’s Assistant degree at James Madison University. Then I moved back to Michigan for a couple years. During that time, I worked in Detroit at a hospital there doing internal medicine for a couple of years.
I ended up getting married to my high school sweetheart. He is a musician, so that’s how we ended up in Nashville. We’ve been here about eight years now. When we first moved here, I did mostly procedure-based medicine—a lot of orthopedics and injections. Then the opportunity arose for me to work at Vanderbilt in the Movement Disorders division, and when I learned more about the job and that I would be working mainly with [elderly] patients with Parkinson’s disease, I thought this would be a really good fit.
I’ve been here a year and a half, and I love it. I enjoy working with this patient population. I’m interested in all the new treatments coming out. Everything is always changing, and we’re always learning new things about movement disorders. I also have the opportunity to work with Dr. David Isaacs and patients with Tourette Syndrome. My cousin has Tourette Syndrome, and I grew up knowing a bit about it, so I’ve really enjoyed that part of the job too.
You’ve described how you became passionate about this patient population, but how did your path lead to medicine?
I kind of decided that when I was in high school. My mom was ill when I was growing up, so kind of always had a caretaker personality. I knew from the time I was young that I would probably end up doing something in the medical field. In high school, I found out what a physician’s assistant was and got to go to the hospital each day as part of my credits. During that time, I got to see what a PA did and see all the different specialties. I thought it would be a good fit because I could do patient care, and I liked that you could change your specialty—you didn’t have to pick just one.
What about neurology do you like?
It’s fascinating. There is always something new to learn. Particularly specializing in Movement Disorders, you really get to know the patients and develop a relationship with them. It’s rewarding to feel like you’re making an impact in someone’s life by being able to help them with what they’re going through. I still enjoy doing procedures, and in this job I can do lumbar punctures, skin biopsies, and injections, so I’m glad I still get to do those too.
What are the highlights of your job? What motivates you?
That’s a tough question because I just look forward to coming to work in the morning! I enjoy my coworkers. I’m also a mom, so I’m glad I also get to have a career and work outside the home. I like learning new things and the opportunities Vanderbilt is giving me. Just recently I was asked to participate in research, and to learn how to program Deep Brain Stimulation. There are always new opportunities, and I look forward to advancing my skills and knowledge. Learning and working with the best people in the field is pretty amazing.
What are the more challenging aspects?
The most challenging thing is that sometimes there’s just nothing I can do for a patient. Those are the hardest days for me, when someone is struggling with a disease and there’s no solution. So I try to focus on my family and enjoy my health. It’s taught me not to take things for granted.
How do you like to spend your free time? What interests or hobbies do you pursue outside of work?
Most weeknights I have dinner with my husband and my little girl, who’s 3 1/2. She’s hilarious. We go to the park, or just spend time playing with her. I try to make time to exercise and go to the gym. I try to see my friends; a lot of them have kids now too, so we’ll get together and do something fun with the kids.
My husband and I like to go to breweries, like Tailgate, and I like to go to his shows if he’s performing in town.
What do you like to read, watch, or listen to?
I love medical TV shows like ER and Grey’s Anatomy. I really like Christian worship music, or books related to that.
Where do you seek and find inspiration?
My colleagues definitely inspire me. All the doctors I work with are really good at what they do. It’s inspiring to work with them. My patients inspire me. They’re relying on us to help them and to be the best that we can be. My family inspires me, especially my daughter because I want to be a good role model.