Most new jobs involve a much different commute, but not so much for Dr. Tom Cleary.
Cleary's new commute is the equivalent of a short walk between two buildings. Cleary is moving from being a physician in the Emergency Department at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital to becoming Medical Director of Riverside Tappahannock Urgent Care, a position he assumed on March 23.
Cleary said the Riverside Urgent Care facility has a strong, talented staff and is a great team, which he knows from working there on an as-needed basis. He views urgent care as a safety net for residents and said he sees "a lot of potential" for the clinic.
"It's something different, a different way to practice medicine," Cleary said. "I see areas in urgent care that could use improvement and I feel I have leadership skills that would aid in helping it blossom and believe that it would improve the health care of the community."
Married to a physician and with two young daughters, he expects to see patients he knows.
"After working eight years in the emergency department, I have cared for many in the community already," he said. "I enjoy emergency medicine, it's something I will continue to practice, but this was an opportunity brought to me that I couldn't refuse. Urgent care is a different angle of rural care in which I can still use my training and get to support this community."
Cleary completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, afterward working at the renowned Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in microbiology. He moved on to attend medical school at the Medical College of Ohio, now affiliated with the University of Toledo. He later completed his residency in emergency medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in NoRiverside Foundationolk in 2007. Cleary's wife, Ana Cleary, is a doctor who specializes in family medicine at Riverside Tappahannock Family Practice. She also completed her residency in 2007 with Riverside in Newport News. Together the couple chose to come to practice in Tappahannock, wanting to serve patients in a rural setting. "During residency my wife and I fell in love with Eastern Virginia and happily found a peRiverside Foundationect place to practice medicine, Cleary said. We both enjoy our time on the water which this area has plenty of. I also enjoy the friendliness of the people and enjoy caring for the people of the community that we live in."