Where Are They Now?
The Department of Anesthesiology has always had such wonderful people who have contributed to make it what it is today. We would like to know what some of our colleagues and friends who have moved on are doing now and how UMMC played a role in their careers and lives. If would like to be featured in future articles of the newsletter, please e-mail Sara Robertson at smbrobertson@umc.edu. We would love to hear from you!
Will Carter, M.D. (2009 UMMC Anesthesiology Residency Graduate)
Tell us about what you have been doing since you graduated from the residency program. What does your anesthesia practice look like? How did UMMC prepare you for your current career?
My wife Missy and I live in Starkville, MS with our three sons, Bo (18), Buddy (16), and Charlie (10). We moved to Starkville in 2009 after I finished my residency at UMMC. I joined a 3 person group at Oktibbeha County Hospital with two very experienced anesthesiologists, Dr. George Lyon and Dr. Latha Brihmadesam. They both had ties to the UMMC Anesthesiology Department and taught me a great deal as I started my practice. I feel very lucky to have worked with them both. They have since retired and unfortunately Dr. Lyon passed away in 2013. I currently work with 2 other anesthesiologists and 8 CRNAs. We have a tremendous group of anesthesia providers that work well together to provide excellent care to our patients. OCH is a 96 bed hospital and performs 5-6000 surgical procedures and 1000 infant deliveries yearly. We mainly perform bread and butter anesthesia with a busy OB practice and daily pediatric cases. I have served as the Medical Director of Anesthesiology at OCH since 2013 and Chief of Staff since 2020. I spend my free time with my family, hunting and fishing at our family farm in Starkville, and enjoying Mississippi State sports.
What did you enjoy most about being a resident in this program?
I often think of my time at UMMC from medical school and residency. I felt extremely well prepared as I completed my residency and started practice. I am indebted to the staff physicians at UMMC for preparing me for my career. The clinical experience that was gained at UMMC was second to none. There were few clinical conditions that I wasn’t able to encounter during my time at UMMC. Dr. Claude Brunson was the department chairman during my time, and he was always committed to improving our experience as residents. We all realized that and were very appreciative.
If you could give any advice to our current trainees, what would it be?
I would advise all the current residents to soak up all of the knowledge from the current staff that they can. They are a wealth of information and are practicing at UMMC to pass that along to the residents. I would also encourage them to experience as many difficult cases and private practice scenarios as possible while in residency. Even if it sounds frightening, get out there and experience it, because in a few short years, each of them will be making the decisions. Foster relationships with fellow residents as well as the surgeons that we operate with. We are all on the same team with a common goal. The better our relationships with our partners and surgical colleagues, the better care we will provide and ultimately the more career satisfaction we will experience. Anesthesiology is an exciting, challenging medical subspecialty. I feel extremely fortunate to have chosen a career and practice location that has been fun and rewarding. I can’t imagine practicing another discipline of medicine. Ultimately, enjoy your time in residency. Be proud of what you do. The role of an anesthesia provider is extremely important. You are making a difference in the lives of your patients. Remember that they are your priority and treat them with respect.
Andrea McCann, M.D. (2017 UMMC Anesthesiology Residency Graduate)
Tell us about what you have been doing since you graduated from the residency program. What does your anesthesia practice look like? How did UMMC prepare you for your current career?
I finished residency in 2017 and moved to Greenville, MS. I am from the delta and always knew I wanted to move back home. I work for Delta Health System, formerly Delta Regional Medical Center, with 2 other anesthesiologists, who also completed their anesthesia training at UMMC. Even though we are a small hospital, Delta Health System is a level 3 trauma center, so we do get a lot of patients that need transfer to a higher level of care.
We have a 6 room OR, and we mainly do general surgery, orthopedic, urology and gynecology cases. A little bit of pediatrics for hernias, circumcisions and dental. Some interventional radiology. Some pacemakers. And plenty of OB and GI!!!
Not long after I started working, we started helping with our ICU, which is a 16 bed unit. This is mainly on the weekends and when our intensivist is on vacation. But as you can imagine, during peak COVID, our 16 bed unit was full along with an additional 8 beds in a makeshift respiratory ICU, and we were covering a lot!
One of my best friends in residency, who was not from the south, said she came to Mississippi to train with some of the sickest patients there are, and I am sure you all know that to be true. My training at UMMC definitely prepared me to come home and take care of patients in the delta. I am sure you have all been involved in a case that was transferred from our hospital at some point, these patients are not healthy!!! I can’t imagine that I could have trained anywhere else and been this prepared to take on the challenges that we face at our hospital.
What did you enjoy most about being a resident in this program?
I absolutely loved my 4 years at UMMC. I made friends that will last a lifetime. We try to still get together at least once a year if we can all make our schedules work, but we talk constantly. Whether it be about a difficult case for advice, or just to catch up on what everyone’s kids are doing.
In my opinion, the faculty in this program are top notch. I learned so much from so many. I remember calling one of the OB anesthesia faculty members not long after I started working about one of my cases. Some have moved on since my time, but I have no doubt that the atmosphere is the same. It was a safe learning environment, where I felt like I could ask questions and talk to the attending without fear. I do follow the department on social media and see so many new faces and how much the department is growing, which is so exciting.
If you could give any advice to our current trainees, what would it be?
My advice would be to jump in and soak up all the information and skills that you can. Don’t be afraid to take the difficult case, and don’t be afraid to do something you have never done before. You have attendings, upper level residents and CRNAs who want to see you succeed. You never know where you may end up. Maybe you plan on working in an academic center, but you just may end up in a small delta town like me. Learn everything that you can in these four years. I remember my first weekend on call….alone. I was terrified. There was no back-up. If the hospital calls me for an intubation that is because no one else could get i,t and I would have to. UMMC prepared me for that. I know you all are learning new skills and seeing cases that I never was a part of. It is an exciting time, although I know difficult and tiring. But when it is all over, I guarantee you will miss it!