Meet Karen Morgan-Vanderlick, MD, DABA, ABAPMC - Pain Management

Where did you grow up? Tell us about your family.

I grew up in Northeast Louisiana, but I have strong family ties spanning many generations in eastern Oklahoma. I fondly remember spending childhood summer vacations and holidays with my grandparents on the farm in Bristow, where my mom grew up with her two sisters.  I married Joseph, who also grew up in Louisiana. My parents retired and moved back to Bristow, and we in around about way made our way back with a desire to be close to family.

We have three girls and five boys. The oldest two daughters are young professionals—an attorney and a counselor. We have a daughter who is currently a high school senior and five boys aged 13 to 6.

Education

Undergraduate degree/university – University of Louisiana (Monroe), where I volunteered in the medically underserved community.

Medical School – Louisiana State University School of Medicine (Shreveport)

Internship/Residency – Scott and White Texas A&M Health Sciences Center (Temple, TX) in Anesthesiology

Fellowship – University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Pain Management

Board Certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine by the American Board of Anesthesiology/ACGME.

Why did you want to be a doctor? Why Pain Management?

When I was 2 years old, my older brother had an appendectomy. My mom said I was a good little nurse for him. I informed her at that time that I was not the nurse. I was the doctor. Since then, that answer has never changed. 

I started my medical career as a 17-year-old medical assistant in the tiny farming community of Mer Rouge, Louisiana, in a small clinic on the one main street between a cotton field and a grain elevator. I always admired how the doctor there (Dr. Allen Spires) truly cared for his patients like family. He planted seeds at that time that contributed to my decision to come to Duncan some three decades later. He is still there in Mer Rouge, caring for those patients and their kids and grandkids. 

It was during residency that I discovered my interest in chronic pain management. I loved practicing general anesthesiology but wanted more patient interaction with awake patients who could participate in meaningful encounters. These encounters and time invested in building relationships have hopefully made me a more compassionate person and physician. 

Why Duncan? 

I am coming to Duncan simply stated because you go where God leads you.  He doesn't get quieter. 

What type of conditions will you treat?

I use specialized injections to treat spinal, joint, migraine, spasticity, and extremity pain. My special interests include neuraxial blockade, radiofrequency ablation, peripheral spinal cord stimulation, and chemodenervation procedures (Botox).

What would you like the community to know about you?

I want patients to know I strive to provide them with quality, compassionate pain care. I take the privilege of providing care to Oklahomans seriously, and yes, the southern accent is genuine. 

Now some fun facts –

I enjoy spending time with my husband and children, gardening with my sons, painting with my daughter, and fishing with the whole family.