How do you trust a doctor whom you've just met?
As an anesthesiologist, Dr. Chris Davis deals with that patient conundrum every day.
At least half of his patients confess that they are more fearful of being rendered unconscious than of the actual surgery, yet they only have a few moments to connect with him before their procedures.
Davis gives them a thoughtful response: "I say, 'I understand. It's OK to be nervous. ... I don't take your trust lightly.'"
Davis, 36, is part of American Anesthesiology, a medical group of about 20 anesthesiologists and 80 certified registered nurse anesthetists who serve Parkridge and Memorial hospitals.
His wife, Holley Davis, is a primary care doctor with the Chattanooga Internal Medicine group at Memorial Hospital. The two met at medical school at Tulane University and both did their medical residencies in St. Louis before moving to Chattanooga in 2018.
Chris Davis, who grew up in Chattanooga and attended the McCallie School, is the son of medical professionals: his father was an anesthesiologist and his mom a CRNA. As a young adult, Davis says he at first resisted following the path of his parents, but later discovered that it was the branch of medicine that best meshed with his personality.
Before going the pre-med route at Vanderbilt (he also majored in Spanish), Davis toyed with the idea of a career in finance. But ultimately the sound of a desk-bound career failed to excite him.
He embraced medical studies but tried to steer clear of anesthesiology, before ultimately deciding that it was a good fit for his interests in science and working with his hands.
"(As an anesthesia doctor) you have to understand body systems, similar to the way an internal medical doctor does, and you have to learn how to do procedures in the way a surgeon does," he says. "It's makes it a unique field that I thought was a perfect fit for me."
After med school, Chris and Holley completed their medical residencies in St. Louis, Chris at Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University and Holley at Saint Louis University Hospital.
Contributed photography / Drs. Chris and Holley DavisBefore leaving St. Louis, Chris Davis did a one-year fellowship in regional anesthesiology, an emerging field that targets parts of the body for pain blocks during and after surgery to limit the need for opiates. His fluency in Spanish also comes in handy with his job, as Davis is often assigned to assist Spanish-speaking patients.
The Davis' moved here six years ago and Chris started work at American Anesthesiology two weeks before his father retired there. The move to Chattanooga was part professional, part personal.
"I always knew that I wanted to come back home," Chris says. "I just knew that I had to convince my wife. Luckily I was able to do that.
"... I love the city. This has always been home to me. ... Chattanooga was a great place to grow up and, in my mind, it was a great place to raise a family."
With two children -- Charlie, 7, and Heidi, 2 -- the Davises have to manage a busy calendar while trying to balance home and professional life. Chris says juggling his time to honor his patients, his family and his friends, has proven to be one of his life's biggest challenges.
In his limited spare time, he likes to play golf.
"Although, I'd like put on the record that I am not good (at golf)," says Chris, who plays to a "10-12 handicap."
Chris Davis
* Job: Anesthesiologist, American Anesthesiology.
* Age: 36.
* Hometown: Chattanooga.
* Education: McCallie School, Vanderbilt University and Tulane University (medical school).
* Family: wife, Holley; children, Charlie (7) and Heidi (2).
* Lives in: North Chattanooga.
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