Katie Fifer joins Dr. Knower's practice
After traveling from the ancient ruins of Peru and the HIv clinics of South Africa, Katie Fifer has landed in Prineville. The certified physician assistant started practicing with Dr. Michael Knower this year.
Certified physician assistant
Katie Fifer fluent in Spanish
and Portugese.
Fifer grew up in Glenwood Springs, a small town on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies. She attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and with many credits in theatre arts.
Following graduation, Fifer moved to Seattle , where she worked in marketing for two years before moving to Brazil to teach English as a second language in Lins, a small town in the interior of Sao Paulo state. While there, she learned Portuguese.
Next, Fifer returned to Seattle and completed prerequisites for physician assistant programs at Shoreline Community College . She also found work as an Emergency Medical Technician during this time.
“This was very entertaining, as you might imagine,” Fifer said. “Shifts were 24 hours long, and almost anything happened.”
After one year in Seattle, she traveled to South Africa and worked on a tomato farm, a vegetable she still raises. Returning to the United States, Fifer applied for physician assistant programs, and was accepted into the Yale University program. Deferring enrollment, Fifer traveled to the Galapagos Islands where she worked for four months as a dive master.
Continuing her travels to South America, she backpacked up Cotopaxi in Ecuador . Cotopaxi is one of the most active and highest elevation volcanoes in the world, soaring to a height of 19,388 feet. It has erupted 50 times since 1738.
Fifer continued her travels to the ancient city Machu Picchu in Peru . “That was absolutely breathtaking, a truly magical place. I’d go back in a heartbeat,” she said.
“Now I was ready to attend Yale in New Haven, Conn.,” she said. “The time was perfect for me; I was ready, focused and happy to be there. My class became best of friends, sharing resources and encouragement.
“[YALE] encourages about 30% of the PA students to gain experience in clinics abroad, so I was able to perform a three-month rotation focused on pediatric HIV in a clinic in South Africa, and another rotation in infectious disease in Uganda.”
Infectious disease and microbiology have become special interests for Fifer. She has a long-term goal to eventually return to work overseas in a volunteer capacity.
“Meanwhile, I like it here, working on the front lines,” Fifer said. “I really like the patients I see. Many have colorful backgrounds; they are interesting people.
“I also have a huge interest in women’s health. I am enthusiastic about the Oregon Breast and Cervical Cancer program that many women qualify for. I often find that the health of the community is reflected in the health of its women,” Fifer said. “They are typically and traditionally, taking care of the family unit. They are the root of the community. When they are well taken care of, that is a good indicator of community outreach. I would encourage young women to come into the clinic and take an active role in their own health care.”
Katie Fifer, PA-C practices in association with family practitioner Dr. Michael Knower in the Prineville Associates Medical Building, 1251 NE Elm Street. The phone number for appointments is 447-1680.