Dr. Anne Davis P '23

Q: When and how did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
A: I practice general internal medicine in my hometown of Talladega, Alabama, and have for the last 16 years. I decided to do this because I had always wanted to work with my father, who started an internal medicine practice in 1976 in Talladega. He and I worked together until he retired four years ago. I have the pleasure of helping people that I have known all of my life! I also have found real joy in coming to know others in my community that I did not know, and have in just 16 years already taken care of and seen two generations of some families complete their life cycles in our small town.

Q: What challenges have you faced working during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: The COVID-19 pandemic caused worry among us all in mid-March, as well as frustration. Worry over who would be adversely affected, and frustration over lack of protective supplies (masks, etc.) and scarcity of tests. My practice became concerned that we would inadvertently expose our staff and patients to something that could make them quite sick, so we started seeing patients telephonically at that time to reduce the risk of exposure. I found that this did not completely replace an in-person visit. Still, it truly met a need in my patient population to maintain their chronic medications and check on how they were handling the new world of self-isolation. These visits have maintained a connectedness with my patients that I have been pleasantly surprised by.

Q: What successes have you celebrated during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: One success of the COVID-19 pandemic that I have celebrated is that it has provided me more time to be with my family, to be more reflective, and to spend more time in nature. My daughter Elise Picard who is a freshman at Springs, usually lives in Birmingham with her grandparents during the school week, so I have gotten to observe her in school—something that would never have happened otherwise! We live quite near the Pinhoti trail, a beautiful first addition to the Appalachian trail, and my husband, Cris, Elise, and I have spent a wonderful Spring running on this trail.

Q: What advice would you give Springs students who want to pursue a career in healthcare?
A: I would advise anyone who feels that they might be interested in pursuing a career in healthcare to spend some time with people who work in healthcare, and if possible, to volunteer or find a job in a healthcare-related field. I was fortunate to have my dad to observe. I often made house calls with him and worked in his office as a child. I also learned quite a lot in High School by taking a summer job as a "nurse tech." It gave me a great appreciation for what ancillary staff in a hospital do and how hard it is to carry out doctors' orders and care for sick patients.

Q: What can the Indian Springs community do to help during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: I think that the Springs community is at a unique position in history to observe and record their experiences in this pandemic. I have just finished reading a book on the 1918 Pandemic, and I was surprised that this was something that I had never heard about in school. Reflections of this time will become quite important for our future collective memories!