SUNA Spotlight: Mary Gail Blasier

**********

Mary Gail Blasier, NP, is looking to the future.

That’s because in two years, she’s off to the hopefully relaxing world of retirement.

Mary Gail works in the VA outpatient clinic in Ann Arbor (Mich.) as the nurse practitioner for urology surgery. She readies patients for the operating room by doing all of the preoperative work ups, scheduling all of them and, as she says, “arguing with the OR when they tell me I have too many cases on.”

She also runs the prostate cancer clinic, where she meet with patients two weeks after their biopsies and reviews their pathology and treatment options. 

“We have two full days of clinic and I see patients on those days as time allows,” explains Mary Gail. “I have worked for the Feds since 1975. I started in urology then and I am finishing in urology now. I have come full circle. I was a Diploma grad in the days when those existed.”

Mary Gail went back to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to finish her Bachelor’s degree and completed her Masters Adult NP degree in 1996. From that point, she worked as an NP in primary care for six years before coming to the urology department. 

“I love urology because there are such a wide variety of diagnoses within that specialty,” says Mary Gail. “I love working with the residents from U of M.  They’re all so lively, smart and funny. They change every two months, so it is never boring or predictable. The physicians that are drawn to that field are down to earth by necessity!”

Also a necessity was Mary Gail’s commitment to SUNA.

“SUNA has been very helpful in orienting me back into the urology realm,” she explains. “When I took this job four years ago, I really needed to brush up on my urology, as my last experience was 1977. It has been invaluable to attend all of the SUNA conferences, which I have made good use of since I joined. The networking experience has been great and it is fascinating to learn what other centers are doing in terms of their urology practice.”

Once she gets home, Mary Gail’s non-stop life keeps rolling.

Married to an orthopedic surgeon/lawyer with two grown sons that still live at home, Mary Gail also has four dogs and five cats. 

“I have to continue working to support my Agility (game you play with dogs) addiction,” she admits. “That’s where I can often be found on weekends.”