Student Spotlight: Tedra Hall, Class of 2020

Female anesthesiologist assistant with her child

My name is Tedra Hall, and I am a first-year Master of Science in Anesthesia student at Case Western Reserve University in Houston, Texas. I was born and raised in Houston, and just love being able to stay in the city that I call home. Houston is a city that offers something for everyone. Food, sports, music, art, you name it—there’s always an event happening in the city that caters to your interests. My classmates and I particularly enjoy the food scene, and we check out new restaurants whenever we can squeeze it in.

I attended the University of Texas at Austin for undergrad and earned two Bachelor degrees in Economics and Ethnic Studies. Shortly before graduating, I decided to pursue a career in medicine. I spent a few years teaching while I decided how I wanted to serve in the medical field and what I wanted my next steps to be. Helping people is one of my passions, and working as a middle school teacher for a number of years helped me to develop transferable skills that have improved my anesthesia care. Who would have thought teaching a class of ESL students would go on to aid me in the care of bilingual patients?

When I heard of the certified anesthesiologist assistant profession while in conversation with an anesthesiologist, I thought that the profession sounded like everything I had been looking for in a career. The stars really aligned when I shadowed in the hospital and saw the deeply personal aspect of anesthesia. The idea of being a trusted caregiver during what is often a very vulnerable time for patients really appealed to me. I am currently rotating in the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, and I get to see a variety of interesting and different cases. No matter the case, I never take for granted the patient who is putting their life in my hands.

My life outside of school isn’t what you’d expect of your typical medical student. In addition to being a student, I’m a wife and a mom. This juggling act can be tricky at times, but time management has been key. In addition, I have phenomenal classmates. We often hang out together outside of class and on the weekends. Recently, we volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and had more fun than I could have imagined. The small cohort sizes, combined with the very demanding time commitment, makes a group of strangers turn into family really quickly.

About this post: The Student Spotlight series highlights MSA students in their second year of coursework in Cleveland, Houston, and Washington. The series is a student-led initiative, and is designed to share current student experiences with prospective students.