UMMC Department of Anesthesiology Staff Pursue Higher Education

Sara B. Robertson, M.D.

All of us in this department are not strangers to hard work. Whether it be nursing, CRNA, or medical school, we all have put in long hours and strenuous work to get to where we are today. Some of us, though, have decided either previously or currently, that they would not stop at just one graduate degree. The landscape of anesthesiology is constantly changing and to be at the forefront of that change requires new and different knowledge and acquisition of more skillsets. I asked several of those people to tell us why they decided to pursue another degree, how it has changed them, and how it makes them better at the practice of delivering anesthetic care to our patients.

Lakshmi Narasimhulu Kurnutala, MD, MS

Degree: Masters in Clinical Investigation (MS CI) 2 years program, UMMC Graduate Studies

Graduated: May 2019

After doing Anesthesia residencies in India (2004-2006), USA (2009-2013), Neuroanesthesia fellowship at The Ohio State University, and Pain fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital, I took my first job as faculty at UMMC in January 2015. After two years of work at UMMC, my previous experience of research and teaching in anesthesiology pushed me to learn more about research, especially statistics, grant writing, and ethics in research. My wife Vanaja and Dr. Bacon supported me to pursue the degree of Masters in Clinical Investigation. As I was working as a full-time faculty, adjustments were made to the schedule to allow me to attend classes 5-9 hours/week. All of this was possible only because of great family and colleague support in the hospital. In the future I would like to continue to improve as a teacher and researcher and provide the best possible clinical care in UMMC for the people of the state of Mississippi.

John Adams, MD, MBA

Degree: MBA

Graduated: Summer 2014

After practicing anesthesiology for many years in the private sector, I noticed a shift occurring in how anesthesia services were to be managed. I realized hospitals were beginning to utilize managed care contracts which altered ‘hospital based’ specialties such as anesthesiology. Wanting to learn more about the business aspect, especially in keeping current as related to my profession, I enrolled in the Millsaps Executive MBA program. Having no formal education in business, I must admit my decision was at first speculative. The classes were offered evenings every other weekend for eighteen months which was challenging because of my clinical responsibilities. I can say that the decision to proceed was one that I will never regret. I learned so much about managing people and financial resources, accounting, investing, and running a business. The educational experience was truly an enhancement to my current skills. The open classroom set the stage for discussion with peers of many professions which enlightened my experience and focused on business operations and development. I would advise anyone in this day and time to pursue education in business to remain viable and relevant in the future.

There are several others who are also currently pursuing additional graduate degrees as well. Channing Twyner is currently enrolled in a two-year masters degree in Population Health Science at UMMC which seeks to teach its graduates to analyze social structures and processes that influence health, develop approaches that seek to improve health outcomes, and develop effective practices that reduce health care costs.

Let’s all congratulate those who have taken it upon themselves to better themselves and bring their skills and talents to our department! Keep up the good work!