Andrea Senter, MD, better known to her patients, colleagues, and friends as Andi, has joined UNC Radiology Breast Division as an Associate Professor. Andi is “coming home” to UNC, after spending eight years in private practice with Duke. She completed her Diagnostic Radiology Residency and Breast Imaging Fellowship in our program.
She is a breast imaging physician with expertise in diagnosing, sampling, and surgical planning of benign and malignant diseases of the breast using mammography, MRI, and ultrasound. She also stays current in her skills as a Diagnostic radiologist with expertise in all imaging modalities, including CT, US, MRI, CT, CTA, MRA, and nonvascular interventions.
Andi sat down to discuss how her career change led her to Radiology, advice she has for residents, and how her wicked sense of humor can lead to a prank or two in the reading room.
What inspired you to become a radiologist?
I had a separate career before medicine as a computer programmer for Medicare, so I had a foot in the medical world. To decide whether I wanted to change careers, I worked in the Pathology Lab. My pathology assignment always sent me to the radiology department to pick up specimens. I’d never really heard about Radiology, but all the procedures and imaging really inspired me and sparked my interest.
In medical school, I enjoyed the physiology of the human body, not just the pathology. I was initially interested in nuclear medicine, which intertwined those two very nicely. However, when I met Cherie Kuzmiak DO, a breast radiologist at UNC, I quickly changed my mind. I liked seeing patients. It is a privilege to work with patients as they work towards their cure.
What attracted you to the Department of Radiology at UNC?
Having completed my residency and fellowship with UNC, I already know the quality of the instruction. I know the breadth of diseases that we treat and cure at UNC. Additionally, I want to teach the next generation of colleagues and continue to advance the field of radiology.
I’m looking forward to rekindling friendships and relationships with surgeons and faculty here and meeting new physician learners. We’re educating future colleagues, and it’s imperative that we get that right. Our residents are the people who will work alongside me, and they ultimately take care of me and my family.
Why did you choose to come back to academic medicine?
Being in a different institution and seeing how medicine is practiced from other vantage points is incredibly useful. It allows you to pick and choose what’s going to work best for you and your style. But ultimately, I knew that I’d come back. Not just back to an academic environment but specifically to UNC.
A large draw for me to academic medicine was the chance to train my future colleagues and caregivers. As a woman and a patient, myself, that’s incredibly important. I want to ensure that the radiologists we’re sending out into the world to practice medicine are well-trained and confident.
What medical advances would you like to see in the next five years in either Radiology or Breast Radiology?
While I deeply appreciate breast MRI (not only an intervention but a screening modality), I do think that it’s cost-prohibitive for some patients. I look forward to utilizing and leveraging contrast-enhanced mammography as another (more affordable) option for treatment and diagnosis. Furthermore, we have a large patient population. I am hoping to direct those women toward more high-risk individualized screening programs.
What advice do you have for residents?
I know from firsthand experience that they are well trained, but sometimes, training isn’t just about the medical aspect of a program. It’s also about the mentor relationship we build with our residents and fellows.
One of the things that UNC taught me was to be flexible and not to pigeonhole yourself: Stay current. I still practice general radiology in addition to my breast subspecialty. This gives me a lot of flexibility and maneuverability to offer a very wide level of skill to my patients.
What’s advice for people who want to become a radiologist?
Radiology is often considered an afterthought. However, we are absolutely critical in most hospital service lines, and we add value to patients’ care. Yes, some of us are not as patient-facing as others but I would be hard-pressed to find a patient in the hospital that does not utilize our expertise.
Don’t be dissuaded; give it a try and at least consider it a possibility.
What is the one thing you want your patients and co-workers to know about you before they meet you?
You can’t tackle medicine or improve without having a sense of humor. Some of the things we ask patients to do and endure are arguably somewhat undignified. But they’re all in an effort to offer health, which is ephemeral. We’re not going to have it forever. So, being able to connect with people and appropriately leverage humor offers another way to connect and relate.
Was there a profession you wanted to be as a kid?
As a kid I wanted to be on Broadway, but Broadway wouldn’t have had me. I would have 100% been Kristin Chenoweth. But luckily, there is only one Kristin Chenoweth, and I am me, so everybody can take a big sigh of relief that it worked out that way.
If you could pick the brain of someone alive or dead, who would it be and why?
I would probably pick my oldest son. He has a lot of special needs, including autism. He endures multiple challenges. I would love to know what makes him work and how he thinks. Having that understanding could help me support him better.
I think that has added a lot of empathy to the care I provide my patients. Sometimes, your kids and your own health experiences can be very humbling. It also makes me a strong advocate for my patients. I get it: Sometimes things aren’t going to go the way we planned, but being able to navigate the detours is important.
What do you do when you aren’t working?
I’m an avid runner. I hit the trails. I don’t time myself or track mileage. It’s very unencumbered. I just put on a pair of running shoes, and I run. Sometimes it’s 5 miles, sometimes it’s 10. It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m outside, and my feet are hitting the earth. It fulfills a part of me and allows me to leave behind the stress and worries.
I love being around my kids, too. They’re great kiddos. I’ve tried to get them into running, but so far, they have not enjoyed it as much as I do. I’m also a baseball fanatic, so we go to the Durham Bulls games whenever we get a chance. I also help coach my kids’ little league games.
How would you describe yourself in one word?
Empathetic.
I try to imagine what it’s like to be someone else, and I’m not going to get it right every time. I tell people I can’t guarantee results, but I can guarantee effort.