Dr. Leigh Hudall

1/24/2011

Article and photo Courtesy of Courier-Times and

GREY PENTECOST

C-T Staff Writer

 

Person Memorial Hospital welcomes Dr. Leigh Hudnell - Anesthesiologist.

Within the last month, Person Memorial Hospital (PMH) brought a new anesthesiologist on board, Dr. Leigh Hudnell, assistant consulting professor with the Duke Department of Anesthesiology.

Hudnell, a Durham resident, joined the PMH staff on Dec. 18. Prior to moving to this area she worked in an outpatient surgery center in Weston, Fla. She said her primary reason for wanting to make the move was to be closer to family, and also because she missed “the seasons.”

Hudnell continued, “I had the great opportunity with Duke to come up here so it just seemed like it was perfect timing.”

Hudnell earned her associate’s degree in nursing from West Virginia University (then West Virginia Institute of Technology) and worked for approximately six years before enrolling in medical school at the University of Texas at Galveston.

During a period working in Los Angeles, Hudnell divided her time between a hospital and surgery center. She said she enjoyed her work at the hospital, where she got to see less healthy patients and do more complicated procedures than she did at the outpatient center.

Now that she is at PMH, Hudnell is looking forward to again “taking care of sicker patients, and the challenges and rewards that go along with that.”

She is also looking forward to being able to teach again — an opportunity working in community medicine didn’t afford her.

Hudnell said she enjoys the technical aspect of her job.

“The art of sending someone off to sleep and then waking them back up, it’s a combination of your medical knowledge and finesse,” she explained.

Hudnell also said she really enjoys talking with her patients before they go under anesthesia, and helping relieve some of their anxieties.

Working in a small community hospital is another plus for Hudnell, who grew up in a small town environment. She said the patients are nice, gracious and easy to get along with. She praised those she works with in the operating room and the nurse anesthetists as well, saying it is “nice to have a strong team like that.”

Commented PMH Resource Development Director Carolyn Rattican, “The hospital is extremely pleased and feels very fortunate to have Dr. Hudnell join our team. She’s been well received by staff and patients in the community. We feel very fortunate to have someone of her caliber and experience.”