We are so happy to showcase you as our “Alum in the Spotlight”! Give us an update on your career path since your 2014 graduation from the General Surgery Residency Program.

After residency, I completed a one year combined fellowship in burns and surgical critical care at the University of Washington, Harborview program. Following that, I started working at the Western States Burn Center in Greeley, Co and was subsequently named as the medical director there. I have been practicing here for four years now.

Do you remember why you wanted to interview in Phoenix, and how did you feel when you were accepted into the program at MIHS?

Originally, I was hoping to get out of the cold! I had a great support system in Phoenix and spent a month on the burn service as a fourth-year medical student as an excuse to spend time with some of my friends. I ended up having such a great experience on the service and with the residents. The sense of family between the residents at that time was very appealing to me, as was the education it looked like I would receive at the Copa. I was very interested in a community program, as it emphasized a lot of the aspects I wanted to mirror in my career.

I always ask for a great story from your intern year, one that you will never forget.

I remember the first order I ever wrote as a physician. I was rotating on the burn service and went to write an order for Benadryl 25 mg IV and was so scared I asked my chief and she looked at me like I was crazy!

When did you realize being a surgeon was your career calling? Tell us an experience where you thought - ‘yes, I am a surgeon!’

Well, initially, I thought I was going to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader followed by President of the US-because naturally the two are related. But once I realized that might not be the path for me, I have always wanted to be a physician. I really started thinking about surgery as an option when I was in high school and had my first meniscus repair and thought my orthopedic surgeon had a pretty sweet job.  That love for surgery continued to grow during all my years of school and training.

I remember a group of three kids who presented to the AZBC one night when I was on and one has suffered significant burns. It was a really busy night in house, and I was there managing these kids by myself initially. One of the kids required intubation and a couple emergent procedures. After all of this was done, I remember talking to my attending on call that night and apologizing for doing those things without first calling and I was told that I had done the right thing for my patient and I remember that being the first time I ever felt like a “real” doctor.

How long have you been in Colorado? Describe your work life and practice today.

I have been in Colorado for four years now. My practice is hospital-based and our burn clinic is located just down the hall from our burn unit. I have one work partner and currently, we split call between the two of us. Our unit serves an eight-state region and so we do a significant amount of outreach as well. We are in the process of hiring a part-time provider as well.

Any new research or programs you are working on?

We have started some research projects in our burn unit. We recently completed a project for the use of telemedicine with transfer patients and demonstrated that with the use of still pictures we were able to more appropriately triage, transfer and treat patients. We are also evaluating the use of a product called Primatrix in our patients for coverage of hard to cover areas (tendon, bone, etc.) Another study we are conducting currently looks at patient satisfaction with the use of iPads and other devices when they are intubated and their ability to communicate with family and staff while unable to speak.

What can you share about you and Deeter and your home life, favorite pastimes, etc.?

We bought our first house together two years ago and still can’t believe we finally are not planning our next move. Colorado has proven to be the perfect fit for us. We love the outdoors and have enjoyed taking our dogs hiking, kayaking, camping, back country skiing, cross country skiing and exploring all our area has to offer. We have found a great group of friends and are very excited to be expecting our first little Deeter at the end of this year.

Give us one or two of your favorite memories from your residency at MIHS:

There are so many things that come to mind when I think of residency at the Copa-laughing until I cried with my Copa family, being sleep deprived, consoling families during their worst days, random/inappropriate quizzes being left on the white board in the call room to keep us all laughing, being hangry and smelly from another hot OR, venting about residency, random trips to the taco truck for another delicious tortas and so much more.

But the most prominent aspect of residency that always comes to mind is the family I found while I was training there. The people, in particular the residents, are forever a part of my life. I know that I don’t talk to everyone all the time, but I know I would do anything for those people as they would for me. The sense of community that we had didn’t always mean we got along, but it meant no matter what we would figure it out, have each other’s back and work together to make each day better than the last for our patients and each other.

Dr. Deeter has experienced two “firsts” since this interview:

As Medical Director of the Western States Burn Center, Lyndsay led her burn center to become nationally verified by the American Burn Association this fall.  Burn Center verification provides a true mark of distinction for a burn center and is an indicator to government, third-party payers, patients and their families that the center provides high quality patient care to burn patients from time of injury through rehabilitation.

And most important, Grady Connett Deeter arrived on December 26, 2019 at 21 inches long and 8 lbs 12 oz!   Congratulations!