A Doctor With 34,000 Patients

Name: Carol Epling

Position: Assistant professor of occupational and environmental medicine and  director of Employee Occupational Health and Wellness

Years at Duke: 17

What I do at Duke: I take care of about 34,000 Duke employees. I don't actually see them as patients, but I assist Duke with initiatives to promote the health and productivity of the workforce. I've worked on initiatives like the annual flu vaccination campaigns, implementing lift equipment in the hospital to reduce the physical demands on healthcare workers who lift and move patients, evaluating how employees handle hazardous materials, and even the purchase of non-slip shoes to help employees who work in environments where there are frequent slip hazards because of wet floors.

A memorable moment at Duke for me: Responding to the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009 was an incredible effort. We successfully drew on expertise from across many disciplines to ensure employee and patient safety.

To start a conversation with me, someone should ask about: Antique glassware. Since I was a teenager, I have had a hobby of learning about and collecting vintage glassware and pottery. My Dad and I used to go to a flea market on Saturday mornings and poke around to find Depression glass and pottery by McCoy or Hull or other glass companies that are now out of business.

My first paid job: I was a waitress at Long John Silver's in Salem, Va.

When I'm not at work I like to: Right now I'm doing a lot of bleacher warming watching my children play basketball. My daughter, Helen Gaynes, plays for Chapel Hill High School and for an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) team, and my son Ben Gaynes plays on a recreation league and for AAU.

If I had $5 million I would: Ensure that my family has what they need to be comfortable, spend a little on world travel, and support efforts to meet a very basic need in our community - making sure that everyone has enough to eat.

The book I just finished reading: "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. It is an excellent book of fiction that just happened to have a medical theme.

The best advice I ever received: An elderly patient of mine once said to me, `If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.'

Something most people don't know about me: I was a synchronized swimmer at William & Mary College. We glued our nosepieces on, wore crazy costumes and even put gelatin in our hair. I don't swim a lot anymore, but I can still hold my breath a really long time.