Just six months after graduating from physical assistant school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Clare Devine had reason to celebrate in September 2024.

The Columbia native was hired as an advanced practice provider at Associated Medical Arts in Montgomery City, giving her an opportunity to manage chronic conditions, wellness for all ages and other visits for the Montgomery County community. Devine is part of a staff that includes Mary Ellen Shanks and Kerry Struttmann.

“The staff is amazing,” Devine said. “I work alongside the best nurse practitioner (Shanks) that I could ever imagine. She’s so patient, supportive, kind and really wonderful. She has taken me under her wing and has been very helpful to me.”

The new job helped Devine fulfill her biggest dream, which is working in the medical field.
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“When I was little, I was the one who was always putting Band-Aids on everybody else if they fell and scraped their knee,” Devine said. “I was always kind of the caregiver, so I think it’s very fitting.”

Devine said she received plenty of compliments from county residents after six months on the job.

“The patients have been amazing to me,” Devine said. “They’ve been patient with me as I get started. A lot of times, if I have to ask questions, I would step out of the room or whatever. They have definitely welcomed me with open arms and they were very, very kind to me. I could not have asked for a better group of people to take care of. I’m grateful to be able to work here and serve this particular community.”

Devine graduated from Tolton Catholic High School in 2017. After graduating from Rockhurst University with a Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology in 2021, Devine enrolled at PA school at UMKC in January 2022 and completed the program in two years.

Devine said she was thrilled when she was hired at Associated Medical Arts, which is located at 504 N. Sturgeon.

“Like any new grad, I was looking for a job and I knew I wanted to work in a rural area,” Devine said. “I’m from Columbia originally, so this is pretty close to home. I reached out and heard back and I went through the interview process and decided that this seemed like a good fit and a good start. So I accepted the position and here I am.”

Devine said at Associated Medical Arts, she works for a position that has numerous duties.

“Primary care is really vast,” Devine said. “There’s a lot going on. It can be really complex, so I’m definitely learning a lot. Some days, I feel more comfortable than others, but I’m definitely learning something new every day, which I think it’s great. But it definitely has its challenges. Primary care, in general, is challenging because of the wide scope that we take care of. But I’m settling in well.”

Devine said her main goals are to continue learning about primary care and providing outstanding care to her patients.

“There are so many areas to improve,” Devine said. “I can improve in a lot of areas. I think that mental health is a prominent and a very important aspect of primary care, so I think I’ll continue to dive more into that and learn more about that. I also want to get a little bit better at simple procedures and those kinds of things, so that’s something that I’m kind of working on.”