By: Griffin Selch, PGY3
Dr. Kelly McMaster grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of North Texas, attended the University of Oklahoma for undergraduate studies and completed medical school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. After internal medicine residency here at UAB, she joined the faculty at Texas Tech where she practiced outpatient primary care and taught hospital medicine in Amarillo, TX. In October 2024, Dr. McMaster was recruited back to UAB as an Assistant Program Director for the residency program with a focus on ambulatory care. We met to discuss her life, training and the importance of good primary care!
What made you pursue a career in medicine?
While at the University of Oklahoma, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I initially studied business, but by the time I graduated I was more interested in medicine. I was extremely fortunate to be offered a job at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas as a cardiovascular research coordinator. I got to work on the original trial for the MRI safe pacemaker, the Watchman device, as well as the CABANA trial, which looked at outcomes of catheter ablation versus antiarrhythmics for atrial fibrillation. That is where I fell in love with medicine and realized that I wanted to work as a physician.
I ended up at Texas Tech for medical school and participated in their dual MD MBA program, which was one of only a handful of programs at the time that allowed you to do both degrees in four years. My MBA had a focus on health organization management, which taught very valuable lessons on leadership and ethics within the health system. I completed my clinical rotations in Amarillo, which is a great town in West Texas. Until that time, I thought I was going to be a cardiologist - it was what drew me to medicine in the first place. But, when I was a fourth-year student Texas Tech approached me with a with a scholarship to return as a faculty member after residency training, specifically in primary care. This was an amazing opportunity, so I accepted that job even before knowing where I matched for residency.
How did you end up at UAB for residency training?
I had never spent any time in this part of the country before. My mentor in Amarillo said wonderful things about UAB and recommended I apply. I had no idea what to expect, and then was just absolutely blown away when I came here to interview. Lisa Willett was the program director at the time, and I so clearly remember her introductory speech to all of the applicants. She said, “Here at UAB, we are happy to help you all achieve your goals, whatever they may be. But we're going to make sure you're a great internist before you get there.” That really, really spoke to me. I was looking for a place that I felt like I would thrive in, that would have rigorous training, but with kind people. I interviewed with Nicholas Van Wagner and Jason Morris. The whole experience was impressive, and the vibes here felt special.
How did knowing you had a job in primary care affect your residency training experience?
Knowing what I was going to be doing after residency was extremely helpful for my training here. I could really focus my education on primary care. I was always thinking, “What do I need to know when my clinic patient comes in with this? How will this rotation help me take care of my patients in clinic?” Residency is where I truly fell in love with primary care. I was a Primary Care scholar and was allowed to develop my own Primary Care elective, where I spent more time in my continuity clinic, a week with dermatology, worked with sports medicine doing joint injections, and even spent a week learning rural medicine in Talladega!
What is your most memorable experience or story from your time at UAB?
There are countless patient stories that stick with you over the years. One I remember well is when Dr. Erin Contratto and I caught a saddle PE in MOD Walk-In clinic that had presented very atypically. The patient did well, and he came back to Walk-In clinic to bring us homemade fudge in these beautiful tins that I still have. That's the kind of stuff I love about medicine, the connections, and relationships you build with patients.
Although it’s not a single experience, I can’t think back on my training without mentioning COVID. I was exactly halfway through my training when COVID hit, giving me a very dichotomous residency experience. I was on the first COVID surge team, which was formed to help offload patients from the hospitalist service so they could focus solely on COVID patients, who were so sick and we had no treatment for them at the time. The faculty, chief residents, and the residency program were incredibly adaptable and supportive. It was a really unique time to be a resident.
After completing internship and residency training here, how did you find your way back to UAB?
When I finished up residency I went back to Amarillo and set up a primary care practice there with Texas Tech. I did GIM with a combination of outpatient primary care plus inpatient medicine as well, both at the university affiliated hospital and at the VA. I also was fortunate enough to get a role as the third-year medical student co-clerkship director, which was such a fun experience. Third year medical students are so much fun to teach because they're so excited to be in the hospital and just want to learn! It was an awesome experience, and I took care of some amazing patients out there! When I was given the opportunity to come back to UAB in an APD role, I knew it was time to come back to Birmingham.
What makes primary care special?
Like I mentioned, my original plan was to be a cardiologist, and then I found myself loving primary care. It’s the patient relationships! Even though we often have so many medical things to discuss, we get to know our patients so well and become their first point of contact in the medical system. Being able to help them is so rewarding. I am their quarterback for all their medical problems, while also coordinating their specialist care to make sure that they are being treated appropriately.
Primary care is often seen as being more difficult than inpatient medicine for residents to master. What ideas or plans do you have to improve our ambulatory experience in residency?
My job as ambulatory APD is to advocate for ambulatory medicine within the program. As I learn the role and get reacquainted with the systems here by spending time in Red Clinic and IM IV, I am finding out ways to hopefully improve the ambulatory experience. I am excited to work closely with Dr. Mack Brown to continue the embedded primary care clinics that he has developed, which is such a neat experience! I really wish I'd had that opportunity in residency – I love that concept and am excited to welcome new residents into those clinics each year.
We are also in the early stages of implementing an intensive continuity experience for interns to improve their clinic training. I can’t say too much about it now, but the goal is to give interns not only more time in their continuity clinic, but also multidisciplinary time with pharmacy, nursing, clinic coordinators and social work to get a better understanding of how the clinic functions and the resources they have available. I am hoping this will be a good first step towards improving comfort in clinic!