Ms. Tracie Jefferson is very passionate about family practice because of the relationships it fosters. She also enjoys advocating on behalf of her patients to coordinate their care. Her goal is to build a partnership with her patients that is founded on trust. She wants to promote an open and interactive dialogue where questions are encouraged. She believes this approach empowers patients to be an active part of their care.
If you had told her when she was young that she would grow up to practice medicine, she likely would have laughed as she rambled on about her dreams to be a journalist. She realized early in college that journalism wasn’t as satisfying as she envisioned. While reconsidering her future, the local newspaper in Mobile, Alabama ran an article about the city having difficulty responding to 911 calls due to a lack of volunteers. She took the EMT class and quickly fell in love with medicine.
Over the next 14 years, her career would take her through being a paramedic here in Pierce County as well as in Florida and Maryland, and ultimately back here to Washington – which she has always considered home. When she returned, she re-evaluated her career and decided that pursuing Physician Assistant training was the right path. She had the pleasure of attending the University of Washington’s MEDEX Northwest program to complete her education.
She and her family live nearby and are active in their church. She especially enjoys singing and working with children. Through the rehab process for a broken ankle and two herniated discs, she discovered that she really loves challenging herself physically. She has completed two Tough Mudders and one sprint distance triathlon and is working towards a half marathon and Tough Mudder number three.
