Carrie Atcheson, M.D., MPH, FASA, assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, has spent years making the monthly drive from Birmingham to Montgomery, not as an obligation, but as a calling.
That commitment has recently been recognized in a significant way. Atcheson was elected to two prominent statewide bodies: the Board of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) and the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners (ALBME) as censor-at-large.
"I care deeply about the people of this state, their health, access to care, and our communities,” Atcheson said. “Public health has always been part of who I am. Now, being able to bring that to the state level, to support the people of Alabama, feels like exactly where I am supposed to be."
A path rooted in public health
Atcheson grew up outside Asheville, North Carolina, and studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she pursued undergraduate, medical, and graduate public health degrees.
She began her medical career working as an EMT and driving an ambulance, initially imagining a future in family medicine. A pull toward taking care of surgical patients followed, and then a deep interest in physiology that ultimately led her to anesthesiology. Early in her career, she focused her service work on short-term surgical missions, leading trips to Cuba, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. Later, she felt the pull back to her roots in the South, feeling the deep need within her home community. Through every step of that journey, one thing remained constant: her commitment to public health.
"It is a passion that has been apparent to her colleagues for years," said Dan E. Berkowitz, MB BCh, professor and chair, Alfred Habeeb Professor and Chair in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. "Dr. Atcheson has been advocating for our profession at the state level for the past several years. This appointment is a reflection of that dedication, and I have no doubt she will do great things for the people of Alabama."
Building toward statewide leadership
Before her most recent elections, Atcheson had already taken a leadership role within the American Medical Association. For the previous two years, she was elected president of the association's Women Physicians Section, serving two 1-year terms. In that role, she worked to grow initiatives, plan events, and bring speakers of interest to women physicians, working collaboratively with the Medical Association’s Minority and Young Physician Section leadership.
She also mentored the Medical Student Section as they developed a meaningful community health initiative: a Naloxone Training Project created in cooperation with the Jefferson County Health Department and the Jefferson County Medical Society.
What the ALBME does and why it matters
The ALBME is a 16-member body composed of actively licensed physicians. In short, the board is a central pillar in ensuring that physicians across Alabama are qualified, accountable, and delivering safe care to their communities.
Its responsibilities are far-reaching: the board certifies that applicants meet statutory requirements for licensure, investigate complaints, and initiates formal actions involving licensed physicians when warranted. It also regulates physician assistants and anesthesiologist assistants, jointly oversees advanced practice nursing alongside the Board of Nursing, and works with the Board of Pharmacy on collaborative practice agreements between physicians and pharmacists.
“For the docs on the board, this is not another line on a CV or an obligatory task,” Atcheson said. “This work is rooted in community care, and I am proud to serve alongside these physicians."