Drs. Sara and Shawn Sanders, both alumni of UMMC School of Medicine and the Department of Medicine, share their favorite memories of training and what they are up to now.
Tell us about your time at UMMC and where you are now.
Shawn: Sara and I were in Internal Medicine residency from 2009 to 2012. She did a fellowship in Geriatrics and I did cardiology and interventional fellowship from 2012 to 2016. We have two kids – Charlotte who is now 12 and Wilson who is 10. They’re both pretty cool, and I’m very proud of them.
Sara: Shawn and I finished residency together, and then he completed Interventional Cardiology fellowship and I completed Geriatrics fellowship. I stayed on at UMMC for 9 years before moving to Baptist in 2021. We have two kids, Charlotte and Wilson.
Where are you now and what are you doing?
Shawn: I’ve been at Baptist in Jackson practicing cardiology since 2016. It’s a really fun group full of friends that were at UMMC during my training. Cameron Guild, Stephen Anderson, Ross Thurmond and Brandon Lennep, just to name a few. Our workroom at Baptist feels a lot like our fellowship office at UMMC. A lot of laughing.
Sara: I am practicing geriatric medicine at Baptist Premier clinic.
What do you miss most about UMMC?
Shawn: My training at UMMC was some of the most fun and memorable years of my life. Late nights on call in the medicine lounge on the 6th floor and slumming it in the old cafeteria after midnight with the green food cards where we would see what all we could buy with 6 UMMC dollars. Hanging out with Saxon, Barr and the other fellows in our offices on the 3rd floor of the old hospital. We would laugh so much after brutal weekend calls. It truly was the best.
Sara: I think most people probably say this, but I miss the camaraderie you have at UMMC. We had a wonderful group of co-residents and staff in Medicine, and the Geriatrics group is like family.
Share a memorable moment of your time at UMMC.
Shawn: So many memories, it’s hard to narrow it down. The time Saxon picked me up post call from the VA parking lot for us to go to the Hang out music fest then dropped me back off in the parking lot to start call on Monday. That was pretty dumb but fun at the time. Hanging a stocking above Sara’s call room bed when she was on call Christmas Eve. The hole is probably still in the wall on the 6th floor. One of the rooms on the right. Laughing at how Senitko would pronounce words like “retired” on boss rounds. MICU rounds with Chappie, Pressler and Trey were the best too. And then the infamous Olan Mills photo shoot in fellowship for Cameron Guild’s 40th birthday gift…
Sara: Shawn decorating my call room for Christmas Eve is one of my favorite memories too. There were Christmas lights and a stocking hung above my bed! Learning the “All the Single Ladies” dance with John Saxon for the chief roast video was a highlight. Dressing up for the bowling tournament was always a fun time for our group. Our best year was probably the year Patricia Stewart, Ginny Blalack, Seth Compton, and I went as the Golden Girls. A funny fellow memory is when our Geriatrics fellow office was a chart room that also included the intercom and buzzer to let people into the Office Annex Building, so we had to do that too if we were working in the office!
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