Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Department: Pediatrics

Kerri Carter, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, completed medical school and her residency in Pediatrics at VCU, receiving the David Draper Intern of the Year Award. She completed her Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship at VCU in 2014. How did she come to direct the Fellowship just four years after completing the program? Her nominator, Suzanne Lavoie, M.D., Pediatric Residency Program Director, recalls that Dr. Carter’s interest in education earned her the role of Associate Pediatric Residency Program Director in 2016. Then, in 2018, “amid some complaints of the program’s curriculum becoming stagnant, (Dr. Carter) was appointed the Program Director for the fellowship. During this time, she completely re-wrote the curriculum, including an educational portfolio for the fellows, and re-wrote and directed the development of updated goals and objectives for each of the curricular items. Other mentorship and leadership activities she has taken on in the last 8 years have included: core advisor in the Pediatrics residency serving as advisor for 4-5 residents per year; Director of the Procedural Specialties tract in the Pediatrics Residency from 2016-2021; and group leader of Project HEART with the VCU SOM for the last 5 years.” 

Wanda Shires, Nursing Program Coordinator for Pediatric Cardiology, has worked with Dr. Carter since her early days in leadership, and states, “I appreciate and respect your organization, attention to detail, and confidence to make a decision. You are extremely intelligent but can explain the most complex situations in a very understandable manner. You are well spoken but yet listen attentively, compassionate but can face difficult situations. Through it all you are humble and approachable. What a blessing you are to not only your patients, but the fellows you train, and the team members that work along beside you.”

“Dr. Carter always has time to answer any available questions. Whether it is about a complex congenital cardiology patient or student loan certification, she has always had her door open and deliberately makes herself accessible to us fellows as well as any peds or med student trainees we have with us at the time,” declares Pediatric Cardiology Fellow Mohamed Kuziez, M.D. “Her approachability belies her brilliance and attentiveness to detail . . . she is open with us fellows about her limitations and encourages us to expand our knowledge and learn on our own.”

Dr. Carter has authored seven peer-reviewed publications and five abstracts and has been invited to give seven regional and international presentations. She is recurring lecturer for M3 medical students, Emergency Medicine residents, NICU Fellows, Pediatric Cardiology Fellows, ECMO Specialists, Pediatric Critical Care Nurses, and Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Programs. She is a member of The Obesity Society (since 2013), American College of Cardiology (since 2010), American Academy of Pediatrics (since 2008), and the Association of Pediatric Program Directors and Society of Pediatric Cardiology Training Program Directors (since 2016). Dr. Carter also participates in numerous service activities including multiple Surgical Mission trips with the World Pediatric Project and regional medical advisor for Make-A-Wish. Most recently, Dr. Carter was selected for the competitive Association of Pediatrics Program Directors - LEAD national leadership program, continuing her education in educational, administrative, and career development and scholarship. “With respect to leadership, Kerri has dug deep into the GME requirements for fellowship and essentially established our compliance with all levels of fellowship training . . . She enhanced our feedback process both to and from the fellows, which of course makes the experience better for all,” explains colleague Scott Gullquist, M.D., Associate Professor, Pediatric Cardiology. “The fellows (on exit interviews) have consistently related to me that their time and experiences with Kerri are the single largest contributor to their success in the fellowship program.” 

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