Editor’s Note: To celebrate the Department of Anesthesiology’s House Officer Appreciation Week, February 24 – 28, we will highlight one House Officer from each class.
Cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellow, Alyssa Green, D.O., is in the middle of a two-year period that revolves around time. Time devoted to this, time eagerly waiting for that.
There’s the time that she dedicates to being a cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellow, doing her best to become an outstanding and trusted physician. She will need the skills she learns at UNMC throughout her career as private practice anesthesiologist in her hometown of Sioux Falls, S.D. She will begin practicing immediately following graduation this summer.
Dr. Green became interested in anesthesiology early on in medical school for its blend of internal medicine and procedural care. She narrowed that interest further to the cardiothoracic subspecialty during an early rotation in her anesthesiology residency at Kansas University Medical Center. Dr. Green came to UNMC to pursue fellowship at the suggestion of Jared Staab, D.O., a critical care anesthesiologist at KUMC who completed his critical care fellowship at UNMC.
“I love the atmosphere in cardiac operating rooms, and the physiology of the cases,” Dr. Green said. “I knew I was leaning toward a private practice job where I wouldn’t be doing only cardiac cases, but I think the skillset I’m learning as a CT fellow is invaluable and applicable to all surgeries.”
Dr. Green also commends the extensive echocardiography training in the program, as well as the many CT faculty who not only challenge her professionally, but support her personally. She’s not necessarily counting down the time to her upcoming oral and echocardiography board examinations, but she is looking forward to surmounting the obstacle.
Next is perhaps the most important countdown of all: the weekly two and a half hours it takes Dr. Green to return to her hometown of Sioux Falls where her husband, Scott, and their 18-month-old son, Maximus, live. It’s only temporary while Dr. Green finishes her fellowship, but those lengthy drives can incite anxiousness when 200 miles separates you from the loves of your life. Dr. Green passes the drive time by listening to the Anesthesia and Critical Care Reviews and Commentary (ACCRAC) podcast, or decompressing from the work week. On weekends when she is on call, Scott and Maximus visit Omaha. They’ve been fortunate to only suffer one weekend apart.
Lastly, there’s one more countdown ticking in the back of Dr. Green’s mind: the time until Scott, an Army National Guard soldier, deploys to Africa for 10 months. This will be Scott’s fourth deployment during his 22-year career. After Dr. Green graduates, the family will enjoy two months together in their newly-remodeled Sioux Falls home before taking on their next difficult but important responsibilities together—Dr. Green in a new hospital, and Major Green on the front lines.
House Officer Spotlight: CT Fellow Alyssa Green, D.O.
