Last year, we were pleased to welcome Bob Carter, MD, PhD, as the new senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of University of Utah Health. We were also thrilled to welcome Dr. Carter to our department as he continues his neurosurgical practice.
It's incredible to see a hospital leader connect with and treat patients on an individual level, but Dr. Carter says his choice to continue practicing neurosurgery is not entirely altruistic. “It’s fun for me,” he shared. “I really enjoy patient care. I love the surgical experience, and I appreciate connecting with our faculty and amazing residents here at U of U Neurosurgery. “
“I think it's important for leaders to have a connection to patient care wherever possible,” Dr. Carter said. “Not only do I get to work with patients, but I also get a clearer picture of both the opportunities and the challenges that our personnel face across the entire medical center.” Although his current
schedule has brought some of the same scheduling challenges and need to balance multiple roles that many busy academic clinicians face, Dr. Carter notes that he appreciates the opportunity to “experience the same real-world challenges our providers are facing and then to bring those challenges back to U Health leadership and work toward improvements together.”
On a personal level, a highlight has been having his wife, Jennifer Carter, be able to join him here in SLC, after a few months of separation when he first started in the role. “It has been much easier since Jennifer joined me in Utah,” he said. “But even since my earliest days here, I’ve had an incredibly warm welcome from the community and the department. I've seen so much passion and excellence here. We're really striving to make a difference, and we're succeeding.”
Neurosurgery is certainly a contributor to that passion and excellence. “I've known Dr. Couldwell for about 25 years, and have always considered him a role model,” Dr. Carter shared. “He was one of the reasons I was so excited to come here.” Not only has Dr. Carter been able to connect with a respected colleague and friend in Dr. Couldwell, but he’s also witnessed firsthand the incredible talent driving the department as he has met with our providers, getting to see their practices and learning about their passions. “Having been at 3 other well-known and high-profile neurosurgery departments, Utah’s program is right up there,” he said. “Under Dr. Couldwell's leadership, this has become a tremendous program, and I can’t wait to see how we continue into the future.”
That future is coming quickly, according to Dr. Carter, who, over the course of his career, has noticed remarkable technological transformation in the field. He noted, smiling, “When I was first a resident, we would localize a tumor with a tape measure on the scalp,” he shared. Now instead of manually measuring where to make an incision, neurosurgeons use computer-guided lasers and other technologies that are constantly evolving. “I think neurosurgery is a very technology-oriented subspecialty,” Dr. Carter said. “The brain and heart are two organs where organized electrical activity is a core driver of function, and the brain is very amenable to this kind of revolution.” Artificial intelligence and personalized medicine are two areas in which neurosurgery is already growing, changing how neurosurgeons plan and visualize their approaches and allowing for the creation of custom therapies that are attuned to each patient.
“These transformations and others, such as the push for minimally invasive procedures, will make our work more accessible and improve the quality of our services,” he said. “Utah has always been a forward-looking kind of place, so this kind of innovation fits with the culture of both the state and the university health system. We’re well positioned to continue making a difference in this incredible community.”