Maternal-Fetal Medicine, EVMS
By Bobbie Fisher
Erin McCartney knew she wanted to work in medicine, and was on track to apply to medical school when she overheard a conversation that changed her career track. “I was in school,” she remembers, “and some girls in the class ahead of me were excited because they had gotten into PA school. I asked them about it, and what they told me made me realize that I didn’t have to become a physician to do the work I wanted to do.”
As a Physician Assistant, she’d still have a lot of autonomy and independence. She’d work alongside doctors, and wouldn’t have to spend another seven years in school. She was eager to start working with patients, and equally compelling was that she’d have more time to spend with her family.
She enrolled in the PA program at EVMS, unsure which area of medicine she wanted to pursue. She liked the obstetrics part of OB/GYN, although her program directors advised there would be few positions working only with OB patients. During a clinical rotation, she met Dr. Bonnie J. Dattel, whom she still highly regards as her mentor, and whose own passion and expertise in the practice of Maternal-Fetal Medicine led Erin further to her decision to work in her chosen practice area. Erin’s mother remembers getting a phone call from her daughter and being unable to understand what she was saying. “She was as excited as I’d ever known her to be,” her mom says, “all I heard was something about red hair. I didn’t know if she was laughing or crying, I just heard ‘red hair.’”
Erin had just delivered her first baby: a ginger haired little girl. “When I clamped that cord, and saw the life I was holding in my hands, it brought tears to my eyes,” she says today. “And it still does. Each delivery amazes me.”
Graduating in 2009, she was offered a position in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, where not all pregnancies turn out as well as that first delivery: all of the women are high risk. “It can be stressful, yes,” she says, “but the good outweighs the bad, and the women who experience the bad need support and care, too.”
The intimacy of pregnancy often creates strong bonds between providers and their patients. Many seek McCartney out for subsequent pregnancies, whether or not they are high risk.
The expectant mother in the photograph, Danielle Mutter, had conceived her first child by in vitro fertilization. McCartney cared for her throughout the pregnancy, and assisted in her Cesarean section birth, even sewing her incision after the birth. When Danielle conceived her second child spontaneously, there was no question where she wanted her obstetric care, and from whom: so strong was their bond that they reunited, and look forward to another beautiful, healthy child.
Describing her dedication to the women she takes care of, Dr. Alfred Abuhamad, Chair of the Department of OB/GYN, says, “In a specialty known for long erratic hours, Erin’s commitment is displayed by how much time she dedicates to her job. She’s often one of the first to arrive at the clinic and the last to leave. This is incredible given that Erin lives in Williamsburg and commutes on a daily basis! Snow, sleet, and summer tunnel traffic are no obstacles to her. The high-risk pregnant women she cares for always take priority.”
