Some employees may describe their work teams like family, but for Tom and Bob Mckee, that phrase takes on a whole new meaning. While they’re co-workers as echocardiogram (echo) vascular technologists at Pennsylvania Hospital’s Cardiology Heart Station, Tom and Bob are also identical twins.
“It’s great having a twin. It’s a friend for life,” said Tom.
Even as children, the Mckee twins shared the same interests. They played sports together, participating on the same basketball, baseball, and football teams at their school. Now, they’re both part of PAH’s Cardiology team. However, the brothers didn’t always work together. In fact, they initially pursued completely different career paths.
Tom chose a career in health care, training in cardiac ultrasound, inspired by his older sisters who are both nurses in the Philadelphia region. Meanwhile, Bob pursued a career in accounting. After a few years as an accountant, Bob decided to make a career change; he wanted to help people in a way that also tied back to his original interests in technology and science. Following his siblings’ footsteps, he began his journey into medicine, enrolling himself in a local ultrasound diagnostics program. While in the program, Bob turned to Tom for guidance on the best practices in ultrasound.
“Tom helped me train as a student, and I’m really appreciative of that,” Bob said. “He helped me enhance my skills in the vascular lab and trained me in renal studies.”
The twins now each have more than 20 years of experience in ultrasound. Tom began working in 1996 at Pennsylvania Cardiology Associates, which was then acquired by PAH in 2013. Bob first joined the PAH team in the early 2000s through his clinical rotation as an echo student, later working at a private practice, and then returning to PAH in 2014.
“I’ve been with Penn for a long time, and it’s always been a wonderful place to work,” Tom said. “There’s great culture and people.”
As echo vascular technologists, they spend much of their time in PAH’s cardiology outpatient facility conducting echo and stress cardiograms. They also oversee and perform vascular studies to reaccredit the lab. Together, they ensure that PAH’s Echo Lab is meeting requirements and staying updated on the latest policies and procedures for echocardiography testing.
When they’re not at the Heart Station, the Mckee twins remain close and can be found on the golf course, even taking yearly golf trips to Florida.
“My wife jokes with me sometimes, saying, ‘Don’t you guys talk enough at work?’ It’s become a running joke in the family,” Bob said. “Not all twins stay close, but we’ve always had a great rapport.”