In this episode of Stories from the Field, Wilderness Medical Staffing founder Mary Ellen Doty, NP, sits down with Sami G., PA, to talk about life and work in remote Alaska.

Sami shares what inspired her to take on locum tenens assignments, how she first connected with Wilderness Medical Staffing, and what the onboarding process was like. She offers practical advice for new graduates interested in rural medicine, insights into licensing across multiple states, and reflections on what village life and culture are really like in Alaska.

Through her stories, Sami captures the heart of what it means to be a rural healthcare provider.

Continue reading below for a clip from Sami’s interview, where she shares first-hand advice for providers interested in starting their own rural locum tenens journey. Or, watch the full-length interview!

Mary Ellen:
“So, if you were to talk to someone — let’s say a new grad — who wanted to do this kind of work, what would you suggest they do to prepare themselves?

Sami:
Oh, you’re not going to like this answer.

Mary Ellen:
Oh, I bet I will.

Sami:
I tell every single new grad this: you need to do primary care for at least three years, because you need to see a thousand normals.

You need to see enough patients so that you can look at someone and think, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but something’s not right.” You have to know what normal looks like before you can recognize abnormal.

In the emergency room, we see people, we discharge them, and we tell them, “Go see your primary care.” We have a very narrow scope. If something doesn’t work, we send them back for follow-up.

But out here, guess what? We are their primary care. We have to figure out why their medication isn’t working. We have to interpret the labs, connect the dots, and manage it all.

That’s why I always suggest starting with primary care.”

Watch this clip, and more, on our YouTube.