Two Riley team members worked in clerical roles for years while they studied to become therapists. Now, they are helping kids work through challenges.
By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org
Ainsley Miller and Katie Donovan are relatively new to the outpatient therapy team at Riley Children’s Health, but they are not new to Riley.
Both Donovan and Miller started their careers at Riley working on clerical teams but knew that they wanted to pursue patient-facing jobs, supporting kids and their families.
The transition has been everything they hoped it would be.
Donovan, who earned her undergrad degree in exercise science at IU Bloomington, went back to school while working the front desk in the rehabilitation services therapy department at Riley. She earned an associate’s degree from UIndy to become a physical therapy assistant.
She splits her week between the Riley Outpatient Center, where she works with kids of all ages, and IU Health North Hospital, where she works with adults who are inpatient.
“I’ve learned a lot up there, but kids are definitely where I want to be,” Donovan said. “I love the variety when you’re working with kids. And I’m playing with toys all day long, so I’m not mad about that.”
Of course, her job involves a lot more, but there is something about the joy of a child learning a new skill or a parent seeing progress and potential that never gets old.
“Kids are fun because they are learning and changing every day, growing in different ways regardless of a diagnosis,” she said.
“A lot of the job is education with parents, which intimidated me at first, but they are the ones doing a lot of the work at home,” added Donovan, who works with two supervising physical therapists. “It’s really important to empower parents and kids and not scare them.”
Miller’s Riley story started with an externship at a satellite clinic in the fall of 2020 during her undergrad program. She started grad school at UIndy in occupational therapy in January 2021 and worked in a supplemental staff role at the hospital three days a week for several years.
After graduating in May, getting married and passing her board exams over the summer, she began her full-time position as an occupational therapist at Riley’s Healthplex clinic at 38th Street and Guion Road in September.
“I see mostly kids from (ages) 2 to 9, with autism or developmental delays,” she said. “So much of our lives as adults are the same day to day. I knew I needed something different, so that’s where kids come into the picture. They present differently with different diagnoses, and they also just come in with their own stories. We get to come alongside and be friends with them through the process.”
While building relationships with patients and parents is rewarding, Miller added, it’s also exciting to have a career where you can be creative and empowering and present solutions.
“We are very lucky to have both of them on our team,” said Jenna Trost, supervisor for pediatric outpatient occupational therapy. “I think our whole outpatient team enjoyed connecting with them in their clerical roles and also enjoyed learning about their progress with school, watching them graduate, take their board exams, and then start working as clinicians.”
Both have been able to transfer skills they learned in their clerical roles to their new careers. Miller said she used to be nervous to talk on the phone, but that is a big part of the job in a clerical setting.
“That got me out of my comfort zone very quickly, and now I have no problem talking to parents on the phone. I think being able to adapt in that role has helped coming into the therapy role, just learning how to read parents and take some of their frustrations and concerns and hear them, but also offer solutions. I see a lot of carry-over from those roles,” Miller said.
When asked what is the best part of their day, Donovan and Miller are quick with their replies.
“Seeing patients do something new,” Donovan said. “Today, I had a mom come in and tell me their child passed his sleep study and he’s off (supplemental) oxygen. Last week, he said, ‘Mama.’ She is so happy, and I just love that.”
For Miller, it’s about “getting to feel like a kid again,” she said. “Getting on the floor and playing with them and having fun makes it feel not like work. I spent an hour running around the room with the Paw Patrol guys.”
Over time, she said, she gets to see how that activity in the therapy room progresses into independent skills.
“This morning, I had a kiddo who was struggling to get up on the slide. He didn’t have the confidence, but after practicing, he did it on his own and then didn’t want to get off,” Miller said. “The small things are so fun to see.”
The secret about physical and occupational therapy for the little ones is that it mustn’t seem like work.
“We want therapy to be a safe space and a fun space,” Miller said.
Whenever things get hard, whether at work or in life, the two therapists need only look down to re-center themselves. Both have tattoos on their arms that are meaningful to them.
Donovan finds strength in a quote from “Harry Potter”: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.” And Miller draws comfort from the first two words of Psalm 46:10 from the Bible: “Be still.”
“I kind of forget I have it sometimes,” Miller said.
But it’s a reminder for her to take a deep breath and be still.
“You don’t have to rush through life. Honestly, it’s like a daily reminder with some of these kids. Let’s take today as it comes. We don’t know what tomorrow holds.”
Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org