Pat was a microbiology teacher at the University of Chiang Mai Medical School.
She stayed in medical research till going to the Graduate School of Journalism in Berkeley and she has been a medical/science writer ever since, largely with UC San Francisco and the VA
Currently she is at Portland VA Med Center as their public affairs officer.

She plans to retire soon and become a freelance writer . She is also an aspiring artist (she draws wild horses/dogs) and is a breeder of standard poodles (she shares her house with four generations!).