Sister Mary Gretchen Hoffman with the Religious Sisters of Mercy is completing her residency at UT Medical Center.
by Heidi Wigdahl,
WBIR Channel 10
A nun’s devotion to God has led her to Knoxville.
Sister Mary Gretchen Hoffman is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy (R.S.M.).
“Really the intensity of His love was such that I knew I had to respond and it couldn’t just be a little. He wanted everything so I said, let’s try it,” Sister Mary Gretchen said.
She made her final vows over a year ago, then started her residency at UT Medical Center.
Sister Mary Gretchen says she receives a lot of questions from her patients.
“Often I get, ‘Are you a real nun?’ and ‘I didn’t know you could do both. What do I call you?'” she said, laughing.
Her patients call her Dr. Hoffman.
She says she is always trying to keep a balance between the two.
“I’m not always able to be there for prayers because I’m here [UT Medical Center] early in the morning and then on the other hand I’m not always able to do as much reading for school,” she explained.
One of the vows Sister Mary Gretchen took with R.S.M. is to devote her life to service.
She feels there are many connections between her life as a nun and her life as a doctor.
“When you’re sick, it brings on certainly a great sense of humility and I think in that moment people can feel close to God,” she said.
Sister Mary Gretchen finishes her residency in June 2014.
From there, she will go wherever R.S.M. sends her.
