Personal Data

Current Mailing Address

David Anderson

2022 Summit Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55105

Email Address: ander012@umn.edu

Present Activity Status:    Working     

Tell us about your community activities:

Mostly related to medical things – American heart association volunteer, volunteer for assorted health problems (Huntingtons, MD, etc

Family Status:     Married     Children     Grandchildren    

Professional Experience

What path has your career taken since your residency?  Include military service, private practice, academic career, teaching and research accomplishments. 

I have been a neurologist at Hennepin County Medical Center since I finished training in 1975. In 2001, I became Head of the Department and therefore spend most of my time on campus. I was never in the military. When I was resident I thought I was terribly unlucky because I was not given a Berry or Cord Plan. As it turned out I simply slipped through. In retrospect I have mixed feelings about not serving. I have enjoyed clinical care (my patients) and teaching (students and residents) most of all, and I feel greatest satisfaction when engaged in them. I also enjoy scholarly projects, including research. I consider pursuing these latter activities a privilege and have never had salary funding for them. I have particularly enjoyed clinical trial research with stimulating colleagues. At present I feel greatest sense of accomplishment when Department and its members do well.

Martha and I have 4 children and 6 grandchildren who give us great pleasure.

Residency Recollections

We are interested in anecdotes and experiences from your residency years.  Include interactions among fellow residents and teaching staff. 

My residency group (Berry Bergen, Ralph Cabin, Dominic Foo, Bhuwan P. Garg, Vic Huang, Bruce Norback, Randy Schapiro, Crispin See, Ken Vatz, myself) was diverse, and supportive. I have seen or been in contact with most of them over the years but would love to see them all together to catch up with careers and families. Most vivid memories are of Saturday mornings, the old General, carotid sticks, the great prerogatives we had as trainees, the wonder of learning neurology – the most interesting corner of medicine. I remember the friendships within my cohort and those who were ahead and behind us. It was a time of great personal growth as well as expansion of my family.

Looking back, would you do it again?  What would you change?  Yes, I would do it again.

Additional Thoughts

Share your thoughts regarding the changes in medicine since your residency.  In your opinion, is Neurology positioned well for the future?  I believe most of the changes are positive, especially the wonders of imaging. I miss the mystique of the neurologist a little; I think we are a little more mainstream than before. Most negative about today’s medicine is the paperwork – particularly the empty documentation and subjugation of medical communication and information sharing behind coding requirements