Meet Dr. Shirley Randall, MD
Dr. Shirley Mason Randall has combined her love of medicine and her desire to give back to the community, with her experience and skills as a physician and Anesthesiologist, to open the Eastern Shore Pain Management Center in Exmore, Virginia.
Designed to serve the needs of the entire Eastern Shore, as well as neighboring communities of Maryland, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk, the Eastern Shore Pain Management Center offers an array of services to treat pain and to educate patients about ways to alleviate or attenuate pain.
As an Anesthesiologist, preventing pain has been at the core of Dr. Randall’s career and life’s work.
Dr. Randall first came to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1990 as a locum tenens Anesthesiologist at the then Northampton Accomack Memorial Hospital. She was granted Active Staff privileges in January 1994. She remained on the Active Staff from 1994 through November 2013. Over that 20-year period, the Hospital’s name changed twice –to Shore Memorial Hospital in 1997, and to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital in 2009.
After leaving the Hospital, it was important to Dr. Randall to find a way to continue to serve the citizens and contribute to the community. During her travels, she noticed that other communities had pain clinics, and that the Eastern Shore of Virginia did not, but needed one of its own. She decided to bring that service to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
The Eastern Shore Pain Management Center is dedicated to working with each patient to treat pain and to educate.
“When I came to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, I was greeted with open arms: everyone was so welcoming. I want my patients to have that same feeling when they come to the Center. Patients are unique and their situation is unique. In medicine, we know that we can’t “cure” everyone and sometimes we can’t achieve the outcome the patient wants, but we can treat each person with dignity and respect as we work with them to achieve the best outcome possible.
“Pain can be a challenge to live with, and no one knows what any person’s pain is like except that person. Even when there is no definable source for the pain, the experience is real for the patient.
“With a good medical history, careful listening to what’s happening in the patient’s life and the proper use of the treatments that we have available, we can work with the patient to treat as much of the pain as possible and for those situations where the pain cannot be completely eliminated, we can work with the patient and their family to educate them on making adjustments in their daily activities, their habits, and their lifestyle choices, as well as in their expectations, with a goal of helping the patient better tolerate pain that cannot be eliminated.
When a patient comes to see me, I want them to know that we are going to do everything that we can to help them live a more pain-free life.
“Patients know we can’t guarantee their outcome – no responsible person in medicine would promise what will be the outcome. I think patients simply want to know they have somewhere they can go where their pain will be taken seriously, where they will be told the truth and where they will be given options and an opportunity to get as pain-free as possible given their medical condition.
“When someone walks in the door of the Eastern Shore Pain Management Center, I want them to feel welcome, secure, and happy.
“When someone walks in the door of the Eastern Shore Pain Management Center, I want them to feel welcome, secure, and happy because patients need to feel secure. I want my patient to know that I am sincere about helping them with their problem; that I care about them, that I am interested in their life and in trying to make their life better”.
Dr. Shirley Mason Randall – Education, Training, and Background
• Founder, Eastern Shore Pain Management Center, Exmore, Virginia
• Anesthesiologist – Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, Nassawadox, Virginia
• Anesthesiologist – Locum tenens – Northampton Accomack Memorial Hospital, Nassawadox, Virginia
• Anesthesiologist – United States Army
• Anesthesiology Residency – Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
• Flexible Internship – Riverside Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
• Medical School – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Bachelor of Science Degree – Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia