Today starts a new chapter as I retired from my full-time job with HCA Healthcare yesterday. I’ve served in San Antonio and Nashville, and it has been the bulk of my pharmacy career; 23 years of the 43 I’ve been in practice.

It has been a time the past few months during the pandemic of looking back over my adult years and since I’ve worked full-time continuously since my graduation, many of my memories center around the people and places associated with my employment.

There are memories of my first job as a Night Pharmacist in Oklahoma City and then advancing to a new position of ICU Pharmacist. At a different hospital I have great memories of the people and the excitement of working in the first OR Pharmacy and being present for the first heart transplant in Oklahoma. I remember the kindness of people helping me to learn and making me feel appreciated for my small contributions to healthcare.

In San Antonio, Texas I worked with great people at Baptist Medical Center and then on to the start of my career with Methodist Healthcare, then transferring in 2003 to Nashville to work at Centennial Medical Center and then the Corporate Office in Regulatory Compliance Support.

I’ve had fun the past few months contacting a few old friends that I’d lost touch with but who definitely shaped me as a person as well as helped me with my career.

But what now? I’ve always had outside interests that have included golf, volunteer work (both healthcare-related and giving docent tours at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville), and work at various churches I’ve attended. Two summers ago I had the opportunity to teach ESL at Conexión Americás which I found to be very rewarding.

To answer the question, “But what now?”: I don’t know. I need some time to rest in God’s presence and listen for His nudging. I’m enrolled in a Latino Ministry Competency Course this week hosted by the Episcopal Church and am also taking on-line classes through the University of Tennessee in Spanish (a long-time desire to speak Spanish since I lived in San Antonio).

I know my retirement will be the most fulfilling if I am serving others. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me next.

Blessings, my friend,
Agatha