June 1, 2021

Karla Donlin, Director, Physician and Provider Recruitment

Central, Clinical Partners, Life@Work

I was born and raised in St. Cloud. My first job was at St. Cloud Hospital, working in the bakery when I was 16 years old. Sister Joan Schafer was my boss and she was awesome. So when people ask me where I get my work ethic, I tell them I had nuns for teachers! During college, I worked in Safety and Security at St. Cloud Hospital, and I also did my college internships at the hospital. After I graduated, I worked at St. Ben’s as a social worker and started the Information Registration department there. After about five years, the physician recruiter position opened up at St. Cloud Hospital and I’ve been in that role since. In total, I’ve been working at CentraCare for more than 35 years.

One of the best parts of being a physician recruiter is getting to see the fruits of our work in the community. We have doctors from all over the world: Pakistan, India, Ethiopia, Germany and Czechoslovakia to name a few. To see the diversity that’s come into our community through our medical staff is really beautiful. And then when I see a doctor engaged in the community, I feel like I won the lottery. Because it’s not just about the fact they take care of patients that we serve, which is an incredible thing. It’s also about them becoming part of our community and volunteering and contributing, which is amazing because it tells me they care about the greater good.