Katie King: Caring, passionate, and quiet... with the need for speed

June 2022

The recently-released movie Top Gun: Maverick makes it clear: there are some people who feel the need ... the need for speed. And it’s a trait not limited to US naval aviators. You can probably find people in just about any profession with the need for speed. Carpenters. Bookkeepers. Chefs. Engineers. And, as we know first-hand, healthcare workers.

Katie King, medical assistant for orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Ward, just so happens to be a dragster driver. Yes, a 2,500-horsepower dragster.

She’s been driving for eight years, taking over for her dad, who had been driving for 30 years. The dragster, Pure Aggravation, races 200 feet in just two seconds on a dirt track.

Scroll down to learn more about Katie.

Q: How long have you been working at Blue Ridge Orthopaedic?

For a little over a year now

Q: What is your job title?

Certified Medical Assistant

Q: What does your job entail?

Bringing patients to the exam rooms, suture removal, and applying cast and splints

Q: What do you like most about your job?

The patients and my coworkers

Q: What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?

I would still work in the medical field as a surgical technologist which I am currently going to school for.

Q: What county do you live in?

Fauquier County

Q: What is your favorite local business?

MooThru

Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

When I am not working, I am usually at Crossfit

Q: What’s a fun fact about you many people may not know?

I drive a rear-engine dragster

Q: Where’s your favorite place in the world?

My favorite place in the world is Gatlinburg, TN

Q: Three words to best describe you:

Caring, passionate, and quiet

Q: What is the most recent TV show you binge watched?

The most recent TV show I have binged watched is the Mayans

Q: What is one food that you cannot resist?

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Q: Are you a dog person or a cat person (or neither)?

I am 100% a dog person, I have two chocolate labs named Johnny & Cash