The American Health Council has selected Valerie McRae, MD to its Board of Physicians. As the chief of the division of pediatric anesthesia and associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., Dr. McRae contributes over 25 years of knowledge in pediatric deformities and managing  challenging pediatric cases. While she has held the role of chief of pediatric anesthesia for over 6 years, she is dedicated to provide high-quality education to future generations of skilled physicians in a clinical setting.

The medical field always ignited a deep interest within Dr. McRae that sparked curiosity in several fields when she was a child. During high school, that curiosity harvested into volunteer work as she signed up to help others at her local hospital. She enrolled at Princeton University and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1988. She later attended Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine and earned her medical degree in 1993. Following her graduation, she completed an internship at Overlook Hospital in 1994, and immediately began an anesthesiology residency program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. After completing the residency program in 1997, she began a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. By 1998 — after completing the fellowship — she accepted a position at New Jersey Medical School as an attending pediatric anesthesiologist and remained there until 2002, when she transferred to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Her rigorous academic and medical training led her to become an esteemed member at Rutgers where she now supplies residents and medical students with tools, skills and strategies to properly tackle the intricate field of anesthesiology. To complement her successful career, Dr. McRae received the Hugs For Brady Humanitarian Award in 2013 from the Hugs for Brady Foundation, an organization that aims to aid children diagnosed with cancer through donations and support. She is a strong supporter of the foundation, and often advocates for its mission.

She attributes her successful career to her own sense of dedication, persistence, and diligence. Her dedication to her profession shines through her involvement with other professionals in her field. She is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the New Jersey Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. She plans to continue to evolve within her field, to maintain a positive relationship with her residents and students, and to continue to deliver excellent quality care to her patients.